Circumcision is a common procedure, but attitudes about whether men need to be circumcised and, if so, at what age, vary from region to region and society to society. This is an important issue for many parents, pediatricians, other physicians, policy makers, public health departments, medical institutions, and for men themselves. Discussion Many foreign locations consider infancy to be an optimal time for clinical circumcision because of the infant’s low mobility, ease of use of local anesthesia, lack of need for sutures, rapid healing, excellent post-healing appearance, minimal cost, and rare complications. The benefits of infant circumcision include prevention of urinary tract infections (causing renal scarring) and reduced risk of inflammatory conditions of the foreskin, such as priapism, foreskin injury, encopresis and impaction. When the boy later becomes sexually active, he is already substantially protected against HIV and other sexually transmitted viral infections such as genital herpes and oncogenic human papillomavirus, as well as the risk of penile cancer. His female partner also has a reduced risk of cervical cancer. Circumcision performed in adolescence or adulthood can cause fears of pain, penile damage, or reduced sexual pleasure, even if these fears are unfounded. It requires time off work and can be more costly because of the risk of complications, slow healing, and the necessity of using sutures or tissue glue. We recommend that preschool or school age, i.e. before sexual maturity, is the best time, but of course if any of these conditions are present, the surgery should be done appropriately earlier or even as early as possible.