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Parents are suing a rabbi after he allegedly botched a circumcision, severing their newborn son's penis.

Rabbi Mordechai Rosenberg acted with "total disregard" for the eight-day-old baby, according to the civil lawsuit filed by the boy's parents.

The botched bris took place at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh.

The boy was rushed into emergency microsurgery, which according to local TV news took eight hours.

The baby needed six blood transfusions and was in hospital for nearly two months. He also had leech therapy during his recovery.

The procedure was described as "successful."

Rabbi Rosenberg is certified as an orthodox mohel - a rabbi who can perform the Jewish circumcision ritual - by the American Board of Ritual Circumcision, but is not a doctor.

His website states that a doctor's medical circumcision, which would be performed in a hospital is "not considered valid according to Jewish law."