Genital mutilation of young girls traditionally practiced in militarily significant regions of the world.

Very few physicians practicing in the United States have experience in treating female patients who have undergone mutilation of the external genitalia, incorrectly termed female circumcision. This procedure, known as infibulation, consists of removing the clitoris, prepuce, and portions of the labia of young girls, usually younger than 7 years of age. Infibulation has been practiced by lay midwives for centuries in the Horn of Africa and in other African and Middle Eastern countries. This paper discusses infibulation, the techniques, and the recommended medical and obstetric management of patients subjected to genital mutilation. With increased immigration to the United States by Africans and Middle Easterners, and with readily increasing military medical deployments, primary care physicians and specialists can expect to be confronted with patients who have undergone this disfiguring procedure during their youth.