A 73-year-old Australian man shoved three button-sized batteries into his penis for ‘sexual gratification.’ This bizarre case featured as a study in the March issue of “Urology Case Reports,” an open-access publication published by the journal Urology.
Australia Doctors Remove Batteries From Man's Penis After He Shoved Them In For "Sexual Gratification" https://t.co/0VqgGVFlVK pic.twitter.com/gitOmq3fC1
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“To the best of our understanding, this is the first reported case of urethral necrosis with button battery insertion,” the study authors wrote in the report.
The elderly man acknowledged that he frequently inserted foreign objects without them getting stuck. However, because of numerous failed attempts at self-removal, the tiny batteries this time went closer to the penile urethra.
Two days after the man inserted three button batteries into his penile urethra, he went to the doctor. In addition to severe paraphimosis and obstructive urinary symptoms, such as weak urine flow, straining, and the feeling that the bladder is not completely emptied, he arrived at the emergency room with significant penile pain.
Doctors then moved quickly to remove the foreign objects as their corrosiveness can cause necrosis, the death of body tissue, in just two hours.
The doctors also feared Fournier’s gangrene, a rare but potentially fatal flesh-eating disease that affects the penis, perineum, and scrotum.
After multiple failed attempts, the physicians eventually succeeded in removing the batteries with forceps. “All extracted batteries were coated with black tar-like material,” according to the research.
However, this was not the end; ten days later, the man went back to the hospital claiming to have swollen and had an unpleasant discharge. The doctors then quickly operated on him again. “An incision was made to the penile skin,” researchers noted, adding that “a large amount” of fluids leaked out.
The report indicates that the doctors’ concern about the individual having an “extensive degree of necrosis” became apparent. According to the study, a portion of the man’s urethra had to be removed.
“Given the complexity of his injury, it was deemed that formal penile urethral reconstruction would likely require a 3-stage repair,” the researchers said, outlining the intricate, six-month process of mucous membrane grafts. Doctors finally “decided that the best option would be for no further penile reconstruction” after evaluating the severely damaged penis.
