Citation

Suttle TK, Palmer B, Heinlen JE, Roth CC, Reiner WG, Frimberger DC. Adv. Urol. 2009; 2009(online): 916507.

Affiliation

Department of Urology, University of Oklahoma, 920 Stanton L Young Boulevard WP 3150, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Hindawi Publishing)

DOI

10.1155/2009/916507

PMID

19888440

PMCID

PMC2771361

Abstract

A 14-year-old male presented to the emergency department with a finger sized "mood" ring on his penis down to the penoscrotal junction. He placed the ring three days prior which resulted in significant penile edema, thus preventing its removal. The patient attempted to remove the ring with pliers and later with an engraving tool, which resulted in minor lesions on the dorsal shaft skin.

Penile strangulation is a rarely described medical emergency, especially in the adolescent population. This case demonstrates the successful removal of a constricting metal ring from the penis of a 14-year-old male with a diamond blade equipped orthopedic oscillating saw while under ketamine anesthesia in the emergency department.

The motivation for intentional placement of penile constriction devices is variable depending on the patient’s age and is not well described in the adolescent population. The adult population frequently reports erotic or autoerotic goals when intentionally placing constricting devices as was the case with our patient. Pediatric patients may present with either accidental or intentional placement of a strangulating object, most commonly strands of hair. The most often reported cause of children, or their guardians, intentionally placing hair around the penis is to prevent enuresis. Regardless of the means or rationale by which one decides to place a constricting device around the penis, strangulation is a urologic emergency and expeditious decompression is vital for a favorable outcome.

Language: en