US judge awards payout for botched circumcision

A US judge on Monday approved a $4.6 million compensation payment for a boy who had the end of his penis removed in a botched circumcision shortly after birth. The boy, who is now eight, underwent the operation when he was week-old baby in January 2003 at the Maternity Center of Vermont in Los Angeles, and still needs counseling to deal with the trauma, court papers said. Surgeon Anthony Pickett used a clamp for the routine operation to remove the boy's foreskin, but mistakenly cut off the top of the penis due to the faulty design of a clamp used during the procedure. "Because of the defective design of the circumcision clamp, there was no protection for the head of the penis and Dr. Pickett was unable to visualize the (head) when excising the foreskin," said the plaintiff's court papers. "For this reason, an amputation to the (head) of plaintiff's penis occurred," added the lawsuit, brought against the clamp's manufacturer Miltex Inc. and its parent company, Integra Life Sciences Holding Corp. The boy, who now lives with his family in Texas, will need annual visits to a pediatric urologist and will continue to obtain psychiatric care "to deal with the trauma of this incident and resultant surgeries," his lawyer said. "In addition, future surgery may be required as he grows older," he added. Of the $4.6 million payout approved by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rex Heeseman, $3.07 million will be paid to the boy's family, after lawyers' fees and costs are deducted.