Surgeon cleared over circumcision

A surgeon who delegated the circumcision of a child to a junior doctor was cleared of claims of poor professional performance at a Medical Council fitness to practise inquiry yesterday.

Dr Timothy Buckley, a surgeon at Mullingar General Hospital, allowed a registrar perform the operation in July 2009 on a boy aged seven, who developed paraphimosis and had to be readmitted later for corrective surgery.

Dr Buckley was accused of poor professional performance for delegating this to the registrar when he was not qualified, and failing to supervise him. Committee chairman Brendan Broderick said neither allegation was proven beyond reasonable doubt. The committee felt it was a pity Dr Buckley had not viewed the outcome before the application of dressing.