Wishing to have a “good time”, a man inserted 3 batteries inside his urethra: instead of sending him to 7th heaven, they took him to the hospital with necrosis on his penis.
- A 73-year-old man went to the emergency room because he had penile pain and difficulty urinating. He revealed during the consultation that he had inserted 3 batteries into his urethra.
- An operation under anesthesia made it possible to remove them. A second had to be arranged a few weeks later because his penis was showing signs of infection and necrosis.
- Doctors advised him against having a full penis reconstruction because his injuries were too extensive.
When you’re in a naughty mood, you have to choose your sex toy carefully. A 73-year-old Australian learned this the hard way. He developed necrosis on his penis after inserting 3 button batteries into his urethra.
3 button batteries stuck in the urethra for 24 hours
The 70-year-old presented to Western Health Footscray Hospital in Melbourne with penile pain, swelling of the foreskin and urinary problems. Questioned by doctors, he admitted to having inserted 3 button batteries into his urethra in the hope of reaching 7th heaven, 24 hours earlier. But the man – who said he was used to this type of “sexual gratification” – was unable to remove these objects alone.
And of all the possible “homemade” sex toys, the choice of button batteries seems particularly unfortunate. The doctors who report his story in a case study published in the journal Urology Case Reports, specify that they are “corrosive and, when inserted into the urethra, can cause liquefaction and necrosis of tissues.”
Examinations carried out revealed that the man’s various extraction attempts had caused the piles to migrate deeper into his urethra. Furthermore, his urethral meatus (end of the urethra at the level of the glans) was stained black. “Removal of the batteries was attempted at the bedside using stent forceps, baskets and artery forceps. However, the patient had difficulty tolerating the procedure and this was abandoned”, write the experts. An operation was then scheduled to remove the foreign objects… but the damage was already done.
“All extracted batteries were covered in a black tar-like material. The urethra was re-examined after all batteries were removed: circumferential burns extensive to the anterior penile urethra were noted.”
Necrotic penis: reconstruction not recommended due to high risk of graft failure
Ten days after his discharge from the hospital, the man returned to the emergency room with a swollen penis and urethral discharge. A new operation has been scheduled. Doctors then discovered a large amount of pus in the penis as well as 8 cm of dead urethral tissue. They had to remove this entire necrotic section.
The man, who had suffered from erectile dysfunction for three years, was given a semi-permanent catheter at the same time to help him urinate. The latter was removed 15 days later to be replaced by a suprapubic catheter. This is a device changed every four to 12 weeks. Instead of being at the urethra, the tube is inserted through a hole in the abdomen and then directly into the bladder.
Considering the “complexity of his injury” and “very high risk of graft failure”the medical team was advised against proceeding with a complete penile reconstruction.
Faced with this “first reported case of urethral necrosis with button battery insertion”the authors point out that the presence of foreign bodies in the urethra is “considered a urological emergency and require rapid intervention”.
