Suitability for Neonatal Circumcision: May I Cut?

This episode marks the start of a new 3-part series focused on neonatal circumcision. The series will span suitability for circumcision, where to cut and what constitutes adequate after-care.



In the first episode, Dr. Max Maizels interviews specialists in Pediatrics (Dr. Chloe Salzmann) and Neonatology  (Dr. Paola Fliman) about their approaches to “May I Cut” as practiced before and after viewing the NeoCirc e-learning module.

NeoCirc.org  was created by pediatric urologists, Dr. Max Maizels, Dr. Walid Farhat, Dr. Edwin Smith and Dr. Emily Blum, as a new approach to reduce adverse outcomes of neonatal circumcision. They believe such adverse outcomes stem from  inconsistencies in procedure practices between providers, between institutions and across hospital networks. Consequently, they created NeoCirc.org to be an educational resource of circumcision concepts and methods for skill training which applies to pediatric specialists who perform neonatal circumcision.




To view the NeoCirc platform, please visit NeoCirc.org
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Max Maizels, M.D.
Professor of Urology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Attending
Lurie Children’s Hospital Chicago, IL

Max has been on staff at Chicago Children’s Hospital since 1980. Over the years of clinical pediatric urology practice, he has incorporated creation of e-learning platforms to promote effectiveness in the operating room. Since 2010 he has researched to promote best practices for newborn circumcision. He is especially adept at performing such procedures when referred because of Pediatric Urological concerns. Max received his medical degree in 1973 from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. His postgraduate training included residency at Boston University Medical Center, Urology and Pediatric Urology at Northwestern University and Children’s Memorial Hospital. He currently sees patients at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

Paola Fliman, M.D.
Attending Neonatologist
NICU Medical Director 
SSM Hospital
Madison, WI

Paola has been a practicing clinical neonatologist at SSM Hospital in Madison, WI since 2005.  She has served as the NICU medical director at SSM and has been president of Neonatal Resources of Wisconsin since 2012. Paola has a special interest in pediatric and newborn policy and protocol development and quality improvement projects. She started performing neonatal circumcision approximately 5 years ago. Paola received her medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1999. She completed her pediatric internship and residency at Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and completed a neonatal-perinatal fellowship at Children’s Memorial Hospital at Northwestern University



Chloe Salzmann, MD, FAAP
Pediatric Hospitalist, Advocate Children's Hospital - Park Ridge

Chloe has been on staff as a pediatric hospitalist at Advocate Children's Hospital in Park Ridge, IL since 2018. She is involved in the development of the newborn nursery curriculum for pediatric and family medicine residents and is working to create more formal and standardized education on determining suitability for newborn circumcision and evaluating success of newborn circumcision in residency training. Chloe received her medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago, IL in 2011. She completed her pediatric residency training at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC in 2014. She worked in pediatric primary care from 2014-2017 before joining Advocate Children's Hospital as a pediatric hospitalist.