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MAN ALIVE!
Man, 68, has part of his penis amputated after sex toy left it with GANGRENE
Doctors reconstructed the man's penis using a skin graft from his thigh, in a world first
A MAN had to have part of his penis amputated after a sex toy "strangled" his member and left it blackened and gangrenous.
The American, 68, was stuck wearing an erection-boosting ring for a whole day before resorting to removing it himself with a pair of pliers.
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A graphic paper published in Urology Case Reports details medics' painstaking efforts to save the man's blackened member, before making the decision to remove the tip.
In what seems to be a world-first, surgeons then used part of the man's thigh to rebuild his penis.
Known as penis rings, tension rings, and constriction rings, the solid or stretchy implements are placed around the base of the penis or testicles, slowing blood flow out.
They may be able to help make erections harder and last for longer and can make sex more pleasurable for some.
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But it's advised that users don't keep them on for longer than 30 minutes at a time, and that they ensure rings are well fitted.
You should remove the penis ring immediately if you experience any pain, numbness, tingling, unusual swelling or bruising, Superdrug Online Doctor warns.
Keeping constriction rings on for a long period of time can put you at risk of gangrene - when tissues in the penis can't get enough oxygen and die due to blood supply being cut off.
The 68-year-old man in question told doctors from the University of California's department of urology that he'd worn the ring for 24 hours, resorting to using pliers to remove it when he was unable to prise it off by hand.
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But the patient only sought help at an emergency department a week later, after having difficulty peeing.
He was still suffering with pain and swelling in his penis.
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The man was seen by the urology team four days later and medics recorded that his penis looked abnormally dark and blistered.
After inserting a catheter to help him pee, they deemed the patient to be in a stable condition and discharged him to a nursing facility.
However, this wasn't the last they saw of him.
The patient, who was homeless at the time, came back to the clinic two weeks later.
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This time, his penis was black from root to tip, indicating that gangrene had set in following prolonged use of the penis ring three weeks earlier.
Medics immediately gave the man antibiotics in a bid to stall the tissue necrosis.
The man was rushed into surgery the very next day, where surgeons began the painstaking process of peeling back the dead, blackened flesh until they came upon healthy tissue.
They made the decision to completely remove the head of his penis, after finding it covered with "thick woody" black tissue that couldn't be saved.
After a week-long recovery, the patient had more dead tissue removed before medics turned their attention to reconstructing his penis.
They removed an eight by 13cm (three by 5in) patch of skin from his right thigh, grafting it around the man's shaft.
"To our knowledge, this is the first description of successful utilisation of this technique for tissue loss following debridement of penile necrosis secondary to use of a constrictive ring," medics wrote.
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They reported that the man remained stable after his surgery and about 85 per cent of the skin graft ended up adhering to his penis.
He had a new catheter inserted through his abdomen to help him urinate - normally they're inserted through the penis - which appeared to be working correctly.
The man was once again discharged to a nursing facility, but will be followed up closely with routine clinic visits, medics added.
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Reflecting on the case, the report authors wrote: "Penile strangulation from a constrictive ring is a urologic emergency that warrants immediate removal to prevent vascular compromise and subsequent necrosis, as well as acute urinary retention.
"Management of these patients poses a clinical challenge given availability of tools available to the urologist at their respective facility to remove the constrictive device."