Man Who Suffered 2 Days Painful Erection Has The Head Of His Penis Amputated
The unnamed 52-year-old from India went to the hospital because he couldn't get rid of a painful and sustained erection. The case has been published in BMJ Case Reports [Graphic content, view at your own discretion].
Surgeons put a device called a shunt, which diverts blood flow, into his penis along with a urinary catheter, and wrapped it in a compressive bandage. But a day after his operation, the glans (head) of his penis – which became flaccid – began to turn black.
By the time he returned to hospital there was so much dead tissue that surgeons had to have it amputated.
It is unsure what triggered his erection. It is considered a medical emergency if an erection lasts for longer than 2 hours. However, the NHS states it can be caused by sickle cell disease, illegal and legal drugs, or by taking Viagra or similar erection remedies.
Dr Saqib Mehdi, who treated the patient, wrote :
The unnamed 52-year-old from India went to the hospital because he couldn't get rid of a painful and sustained erection. The case has been published in BMJ Case Reports [Graphic content, view at your own discretion].
Surgeons put a device called a shunt, which diverts blood flow, into his penis along with a urinary catheter, and wrapped it in a compressive bandage. But a day after his operation, the glans (head) of his penis – which became flaccid – began to turn black.
By the time he returned to hospital there was so much dead tissue that surgeons had to have it amputated.
It is unsure what triggered his erection. It is considered a medical emergency if an erection lasts for longer than 2 hours. However, the NHS states it can be caused by sickle cell disease, illegal and legal drugs, or by taking Viagra or similar erection remedies.
Dr Saqib Mehdi, who treated the patient, wrote :
We removed his urethral catheter. But still the black colour of glans penis deepened over the next day and a clear line of demarcation became visible between it and the penile shaft.
Doctors couldn't stop the gangrene, which is the irreversible death of skin and flesh, so decided the best option was to amputate the head of the penis. Three weeks after the life-changing operation the man could urinate normally and had a 'healthy wound', the report said.
