DURING A two month period, September and October 1968, plastic bell clamps were used for routine circumcision in the newborn at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. Approximately 100 circumcisions were done using this method. They were performed on the second hospital day.
Numerous minor complaints of appearance and not falling off soon enough (less than ten days) were made during this period. These were expected, and appropriate corrective measures were taken.
On one occasion, the plastic bell did not separate, and on the 33rd day the child was brought into the clinic for evaluation. The "ring" portion had become fixed on the glans of the penis resulting in an artificial sulcus on the distal portion of the glans. The bell was removed without difficulty and the child dismissed. Five days later, he was again brought to the clinic with the complaint that the ridge had not disappeared (Fig 1).