JRSM > Volume 95, Number 5 > Pp. 254

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Grease-gun injury to the penis

J S Kalsi BSc MRCS   M Arya MB FRCS   J Peters MB FRCS (Urol)   S Minhas MD FRCS     D J Ralph MD FRCS (Urol)  

Institute of Urology and Nephrology, 48 Riding House Street, London W1P 7NN, UK

Correspondence to: Mr J S Kalsi E-mail: j.kalsi{at}ucl.ac.uk

Accidental high-pressure injection of oils—grease-gun injury—has become increasingly common. We report a non-accidental variant.

CASE HISTORY

At age 31 a man used a high-pressure pneumatic grease-gun to inject his penis in the hope of increasing its girth. Unfortunately the width continued to increase and he also developed erectile dysfunction. He sought urological advice 7 years after the initial incident.

On examination the penis was grossly deformed with areas of nodular subcutaneous thickening. An MRI scan, performed after intracavernosal injection of 5 µg prostaglandin E1, showed marked thickening of the penile skin and subcutaneous tissue with areas of calcification and globules of grease. There was no involvement of the corpora cavernosa or corpus spongiosum (Figure 1).

View larger version (108K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Figure 1. Sagittal T2 weighted, fat-saturation penile MRI image (after intravenous contrast)

 

The affected subcutaneous tissue and globules of grease were excised in a staged procedure over three separate admissions. On histological examination the specimens showed extensive fibrosis and foreign-body granulomatous changes. Six months postoperatively, the patient had regained erectile function sufficient to permit sexual intercourse.

COMMENT

For over a century people have attempted to embellish the human body by injecting various oils beneath the skin¹. Injection of the penis with material such as paraffin and Vaseline, to increase its circumference, has been particularly seen in South-east Asia^{2, 3}. In addition, the subcutaneous self-implantation of spherical objects in the penis is a well-known practice among members of the Yakuza in Japan. Increased sexual confidence is a major reason for these implantations, which are usually performed under primitive conditions⁴. Complications, which are frequent, include penile deformity, necrosis/ulceration of the skin, erectile dysfunction and inability to have intercourse².

Accidental injuries with high-pressure devices such as grease-guns most commonly affect the hand and fingers and pose a therapeutic challenge for the surgeon. Their severity is related to the nature, pressure, volume and toxicity of the injected substance. The major hazard of this injury is a toxic oedema followed by ischaemia, causing gangrene⁴.

We have not found any previous report of a self-inflicted high-pressure grease-gun injection into the penis. In this case the extent of tissue damage was difficult to establish, but MRI clearly showed that underlying corpora were not involved; thus all affected subcutaneous tissue could be excised without damage to normal tissue. Staging of the procedure was necessary to minimize the risk of devascularization of the overlying skin. As in all cases of self-injection, a referral for psychological counselling was warranted.

REFERENCES

1. Behar TA, Anderson EE, Barwick WJ, Mohler JL. Sclerosing lipogranulomatosis: a case report of scrotal injection of automobile transmission fluid and literature review of subcutaneous injection of oils. Plast Reconstr Surg1993; 91:352 -61[Medline]

2. Jeong JH, Shin HJ, Woo SH, et al. A new repair technique for penile paraffinoma: bilateral scrotal flaps. Ann Plast Surg 1996;37:386 -93[Medline]

3. Rothschild MA, Ehrlich E, Klevno WA, et al. Self-implanted subcutaneous penile balls—a new phenomenon in Western Europe. Int J Legal Med1997; 110:88 -91[Medline]

4. Rappold G, Rosenmary E. High-pressure injection injuries of the hand, pathogenesis, problems and therapy. Handchir Mikrochir Plast Chir 2001;33:332 -41[Medline]

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This Article Figures Only Full Text (PDF) Send a Quick Comment Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Quick Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kalsi, J S Articles by Ralph, D J Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?