Do men having routine circumcision need histological confirmation of the cause of their phimosis or postoperative follow-up?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the accuracy of pre-operative diagnosis of preputial pathology ainongst urologists and general surgeons. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were collected on 460 adult patients having had circumcision performed by either a general surgeon or a urologist over a 10-year period. RESULTS: Pre-operative diagnosis was consistent with final histology in 83% of cases and further management was never altered by the histological result. Re-referral rates were 0% for general surgeons and 2.7% for urologists (P > 0.05) and there were no cases needing further surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Routine submission of histological specimens for analysis and out-patient follow-up are not required following circumcision.