Lawyers deny claim man left circumcision with amputation

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two doctors deny claims by an Alabama man who says his penis was amputated during what was supposed to be a routine circumcision, one of their lawyers said Friday.

Defense lawyer Will Axon said allegations in a lawsuit filed this week in state court by Johnny Lee Banks Jr. and his wife are “completely untrue.”

“When the facts become known this will be seen as an unfair attempt to damage the reputations of dedicated physicians and their outstanding clinics with sensational claims that are completely false,” said Axon.

Axon declined to answer questions about specifics in the suit, including whether the man had a penis when he left the hospital.

Banks and his wife filed the lawsuit this week against Drs. Vincent Michael Bivins and Alan Aikens, their medical groups and a hospital. Banks claims his penis was wrongly amputated during a circumcision last month and no one ever told him why.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of medical malpractice, negligence and other wrongdoing. It seeks an unspecified amount of money.

The hospital, Princeton Baptist Medical Center, previously said the claims are without merit.

The lawsuit contends Banks went to the hospital last month for a circumcision and awoke following the operation without a penis. No one ever warned that amputation could result from the procedure or explained what happened, the suit said.

The suit also names Urology Centers of Alabama, where Bivins works, and Simon-Williamson Clinic, where Aikens works.

The complaint says Bivins treated Banks for conditions that led to the circumcision and Aikens was scheduled to perform the procedure.