Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Neil Pollock

1,781 bytes added, 14 April
Revise text; add links in SEEALSO section; add category.
|}
'''Neil Pollock''' is a [[Circumcised doctors| circumcised surgeon]] and , certified [[mohel]] and avid promoter of non-therapeutic [[circumcision]].<ref name='National Post, The 2001-01-22'>{{REFweb
|quote=Dr. Neil Pollock, a Vancouver-area physician who is also a trained mohel designated to perform ritual Jewish circumcisions...
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/npost.htm
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> from Vancouver, [[Canada]], whose sole livelihood comes from performing non-therapeutic infant [[circumcision ]] and vasectomy.<ref name="pollock2011">{{REFweb |quote=Dr. Pollock limits his practice to only two surgical procedures. Infant Non-therapeutic infant circumcision is one of these procedures. (No-Scalpel No-Needle Vasectomy is the other).
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-drpollock.html
|title=About Dr. Pollock
}}</ref> He is a prolific circumciser of infants, and according to his website, he has performed over 30,000 infant circumcisions,<ref name="pollock2011" /> he performs 2,500 annually,<ref name="pollock2011" /> and he is personally responsible for 2/3rds of all circumcisions in the entire Vancouver Lower Mainland.<ref name="pollock2011" />
On his website, he references the late [[Edgar Schoen]], another avid circumcision advocate.<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=For detailed information about the medical benefits and risks of circumcision, please go to http://www.medicirc.org a website written by world renowned pediatrician - Dr.Edgar Schoen of San Francisco California, USA.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref>
 
The [[Canadian Urological Association]] (2018) says "neonatal circumcision cannot be justified based
on the current evidence available."<ref name="cua2018">{{REFjournal
|last=Dave
|first=Sumit
|init=S
|author-link=
|last2=Afshar
|first2=Kourash
|init2=K
|author2-link=
|last3=Braga
|first3=Luis
|init3=L
|author3-link=
|last4=Anderson
|first4=Peter
|init4=P
|author4-link=
|etal=no
|title=Canadian Urological Association guideline on the care of the normal foreskin and neonatal circumcision in Canadian infants (full version)
|journal=Can Urol Assoc J
|location=
|date=2018-02
|volume=12
|issue=2
|pages=E76-99
|url=http://www.cua.org/themes/web/assets/files/5033_foreskin_guideline_longversion.pdf
|pubmedID=29381458
|pubmedCID=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5937400/
|DOI=/10.5489/cuaj.5033
|accessdate=2020-08-07
}}</ref>
== Revenue ==
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> If his website is correct, he performs 2,500 annually,<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=Currently he performs approximately 2500 2,500 annually at his two private offices.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-drpollock.html
|title=About Dr. Pollock
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> which means he grosses C$1,137,500 Canadian on infant circumcision alone.
== Misleading information ==
=== "Virtually bloodless" ===
While his homepage promises a circumcision that is "virtually bloodless",<ref name="30 second"/> the FAQ page admits that "a small amount of [[bleeding ]] is normal,"<ref>{{REFweb |quote=A small amount of [[bleeding ]] is normal. Take some gauze with Vaseline on it and squeeze the [[bleeding ]] area of the penis with your fingers for two minutes.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-
|title=Frequently Asked Questions
|last=
|first=
|publisher=Pollock Clinics
|website=
|date=
|accessdate=2011-04-08
}}</ref> The topical anaesthetic only serves to numb the area to lessen the pain of the injection, but studies have shown that a dorsal penile ring block is not always effective in stopping the [[Pain| pain of circumcision]].<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Taeusch
|first=H. William
|init=HW
|last2=Martinez
|first2=Alma M.
|last2init2=MartinezAM |last3=Partridge
|first3=J. Colin
|last3init3=PartridgeJC |last4=Sniderman
|first4=Susan
|last4init4=SnidermanS |last5=Armstrong-Wells
|first5=Jennifer
|last5init5=ArmstrongJ |last6=Fuentes-WellsAfflick
|first6=Elena
|last6init6=Fuentes-AfflickE
|title=Pain During Mogen or Plastibell Circumcision
|journal=Journal of Perinatology
|issue=3
|pages=214-218
|url=httphttps://www.nature.com/jparticles/journal/v22/n3/full/7210653a.html7210653
|quote=...more than half of the study group had what we considered excessive pain/discomfort over the course of the entire procedure.
|pubmedID=11948384
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1038/sj.jp.7210653
|date=2002-04
|accessdate=2011-04-08
|last=Williamson
|first=Paul S.
|init=PS
|last2=Evans
|first2=Nolan Donovan
|last2init2=EvansND
|title=Neonatal Cortisol Response to Circumcision with Anesthesia
|journal=Clinical Pediatrics
|url=http://cpj.sagepub.com/content/25/8/412.abstract
|quote=The adrenal cortisol response to surgery was not significantly reduced by the administration of lidocaine.
|pubmedID=3731671
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=10.1177/000992288602500807
|date=1986-08
|accessdate=20112020-0408-0807}}</ref> During the [[circumcision]], the child is given sugar pacifiers to "reduce his pain perceptions",<ref>{{REFweb
|quote=During the circumcision, your son will receive sugar pacifiers to suck on which reduce his pain perceptions.
|url=http://www.pollockclinics.com/circumcision/circumcision-before.html
|last=Slater
|first=Rebeccah
|init=R
|last2=Cornelissen
|first2=Laura
|last2init2=CornelissenL |last3=Fabrizi
|first3=Lorenzo
|last3init3=FabriziL |last4=Patten
|first4=Debbie
|last4init4=PattenD |last5=Yoxen
|first5=Jan
|last5init5=YoxenJ |last6=Worley
|first6=Alan
|last6init6=WorleyA |last7=Boyd
|first7=Stewart
|last7init7=BoydS |last8=Meek
|first8=Judith
|last8init8=Meek |first9=Prof. MariaJ
|last9=Fitzgerald
|first9=Maria
|init9=M
|date=2010-10-09
|title=Oral sucrose as an analgesic drug for procedural pain in newborn infants: a randomised controlled trial
The website insists that without experience, which it boasts Pollock for having, the methods and techniques he uses could be "potentially dangerous," however the [[Mogen]] clamp has been notorious for glans amputations, even among experienced conductors of circumcision.<ref>{{REFjournal
|last=Taeusch
|first=H . William |init=HW |last2=Martinez
|first2=Alma M.
|last2init2=MartinezAM |last3=Partridge
|first3=J. Colin
|last3init3=PartridgeJC |last4=Sniderman
|first4=Susan
|last4init4=SnidermanS |last5=Armstrong-Wells
|first5=Jennifer
|last5init5=ArmstrongJ |last6=Fuentes-WellsAfflick
|first6=Elena
|last6init6=Fuentes-AfflickE
|title=Pain During Mogen or Plastibell Circumcision
|journal=Journal of Perinatology
}}</ref> after losing a 10.8 million dollar law suit,<ref name="tagami2011" /> after a mohel<ref name="tagami2011" /> severed the end of a baby's glans<ref name="tagami2011" /> using one of their clamps. Mogen claimed that injury was impossible with its use.<ref name="tagami2011" /> The injury behind a prior lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court had already put Mogen on notice about the danger of the device.<ref name="tagami2011" />
In a different case, at [https://www.yellowpages.com/atlanta-ga/mip/south-fulton-medical-center-482596089 South Fulton Medical Center], another law suit was won in 2009.<ref name="tagami2011" />In that case, a child lost a third of his glans, and the plaintiffs were awarded 2.3 million dollars.<ref name="tagami2011" />
=== "A New Approach" for children, teenagers and adults ===
According to the ''Jewish Independent'', Pollock claims to "have developed a technique to do circumcision in this older age group under local anesthetic without using sutures and using, instead, a cyanocrylate [[skin ]] glue that closes the wound." Pollock claims that this provides for a "simpler, easier, quicker, safer and improved cosmetic outcome for patients.", claims that have not been substantiated.<ref>{{REFnews
|last=Laye
|first=Baysa
|last=Whitesides
|first=Eugene W.
|init=EW
|author-link=
|etal=no
|title=Neonatal circumcision revisited
|trans-title=
|language=
|journal=CMAJ
|location=
|quote=Dr. Pollock travelled as part of a team assembled by the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and their partner in the project, Family Health International (FHI).
|accessdate=2011-04-10
}}</ref> as part of a team on a "fact finding mission." He was asked by David Patrick, then Head of Epidemiology at the BCCDC.<ref name="millman2009" /> The mission was supposed to consult with the Rwandan healthcare system involved in the fight against [[AIDS]],<ref name="millman2009" /> but Pollock took advantage of the trip to promote infant circumcision specifically.<ref name="millman2009" /> Upon being told that few parents were having their children circumcised because the procedures were being performed with scissors and stitches, without adequate anaesthetic and were taking around 30 minutes to complete,<ref name="millman2009" /> he took the opportunity to promote the [[Mogen]] infant circumcision procedure under the guise of "[[HIV ]] prevention."<ref name="millman2009" /><ref>{{REFnews
|last=Millman
|first=N. Michael
|publisher=
|website=marketwire
|quote=Vancouver-based circumcision and vasectomy surgeon, Dr. Neil Pollock, recently returned from a 10 day mission to sub-Saharan Africa where he taught Rwandan doctors proper infant circumcision technique to help them stem the spread of [[AIDS ]] in the region.
|date=2009-02-24
|accessdate=2011-04-10
|date=2009-02-24
|accessdate=2011-04-10
}}</ref> He took advantage of the [[AIDS ]] crisis, and the fact that the [[WHO]]/[[UNAIDS]] had endorsed circumcision as legitimate [[HIV ]] prevention to promote specifically infant circumcision, and his "simple and painless procedure" (AKA, the [[Mogen]] technique).<ref>{{REFnews
|last=Millman
|first=N. Michael
|publisher=
|website=marketwire
|quote=When a relatively simple and painless procedure exists that can so dramatically reduce one's chances of contracting [[AIDS]], it seemed tragic that the local doctors in Rwanda were not properly trained to use it...
|date=2009-02-24
|accessdate=2011-04-10
}}</ref> Pollock admits that he hopes his "technique" would encourage more Rwandan parents to have their children circumcised, albeit for the pretext of [[HIV ]] prevention.<ref>{{REFnews
|last=Millman
|first=N. Michael
|date=2009-02-24
|accessdate=2011-04-10
}}</ref> Pollock was largely instrumental in making infant circumcision a priority for the Rwandan Ministry of Health in the fight against [[AIDS]]. <ref>{{REFnews
|last=N. Michael
|first=Millman
|publisher=
|website=marketwire
|quote=At the end of Dr. Pollock's visit, the Rwandan Ministry of Health announced they were making infant circumcision a priority in their fight against [[AIDS]], as they found it to be more sustainable in the long run and ten times cheaper than adult circumcision(v).
|date=2009-02-24
|accessdate=2011-04-10
=== Haiti ===
In 2014, Pollock claimed he was contacted by Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, professor at [the {{UNI|University of California, Los Angeles] |UCLA}} Medical School, asking to train surgeons in Port-Au-Prince. Pollock started a fundraiser hoping to raise $25,000 to cover a one week trip to Port-Au-Prince, to train two surgeons, who will in turn train more surgeons once he leaves. This with the premise that circumcision can help reduce the risk of males contracting [[HIV ]] through heterosexual intercourse, a premise that has been subject to frequent criticism for lack of proven causal link and failure to show the intended results.
The ultimate intention of the training, Pollock said, is β€œto set up a national program accepted by the population, to introduce infant circumcision safely and effectively, and have it evolve to become a widespread practice throughout the country.” UCLA's Klausner and other researchers at UCLA seem to be very interested in introducing circumcision in the Caribbean and Latin America.
|accessdate=2014-07-11
}}</ref>
 
== Lack of third-party payment ==
[[Third-party payment]] for non-therapeutic [[circumcision]] is not available in [[Canada]].
 
== Video ==
=== Cutting Children Violates the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms ===
<youtube>pCBMFlPzkt0</youtube>
{{SEEALSO}}
*[[Bias]] -- Motivations for circumcision bias.* [[Circumcised doctors]]* [[Canada]]* [[Pain]]* [[Trauma]]
{{LINKS}}
[[Category:Physician]]
[[Category:Pollock group]]
[[Category:Promoter]]
[[Category:Surgeon]]
[[Category:Canada]]
 
[[Category:Lawsuit]]
[[Category:From CircLeaks]]
15,508
edits

Navigation menu