The assistant state pathologist has said an infant boy who died following a botched circumcision could have been saved by immediate medical intervention.
Dr Margaret Bolster was speaking yesterday at the trial of Osagie Igbinidion (32), from Nigeria, who is charged with recklessly engaging in conduct that created a risk of serious harm or death to Callis Osajhae at Summerhill Mews, Waterford, on August 17th, 2003.
Callis was pronounced dead in Waterford Regional Hospital, after his family took him there in a taxi.
The child's parents requested the procedure in accordance with their religious beliefs. Mr Igbinidion, who was living in a refugee centre in Kilkenny, charged the couple €100 for the circumcision. Earlier in the trial, Idehem Osajhae, the father of the child, said he had been too scared to bring the child to hospital.
Yesterday Dr Bolster told Waterford Circuit Criminal Court the infant's foreskin had been surgically removed and that there were no ligatures on a vessel supplying the penis with blood. Blood samples were sent to England to see if they would show that the child was a haemophiliac - however, one of the tests failed and it was not proved. The pathologist said that in normal circumstances the bleeding in a circumcision was controlled by applying heat to the area, and also by ligature. The child's death could have been prevented if he was brought to hospital at an earlier stage and if doctors were able to examine him, she said.
"This could have been treated certainly in the early stages - it could have been dealt with.
"The problem was the failure to stop the bleeding," she said.
Dr Bolster said 10 to 20 per cent of blood loss will result in death in an infant, whereas a 33 per cent haemorrhage in an adult will result in death.
She added that the circumcision that was performed with a razor blade "looked very professional - it was a very good result".
Also in court yesterday was Dr Joseph Spitser, an expert religious circumcisionist, described as having a "considerable skill and interest in the area".
The British doctor, who has 24 years' experience, is the medical officer of the Jewish Initiation Society. He told the court there were several risks involved in circumcision, including bleeding.
Also in court was Mr Igbinidion's wife, Catherine Glavin, who said she noticed a change in her partner in the weeks before his arrest.The trial continues.