An anonymous 22-year-old man in Ireland was riding a mountain bike and vigorously traversing the mountains. Due to the bumpy ride, his perineum accidentally hit the bike’s top tube (crossbar), resulting in external genital swelling and a persistent erection lasting seven weeks.
The Irish Independent reported that the man did not experience severe pain and, due to embarrassment, delayed seeking medical help. It wasn’t until five weeks after the continuous engorgement that he finally visited Tallaght Hospital in Dublin for assistance.
Initial medical examination found no external injuries to the man’s private area, and he was diagnosed with high-flow priapism — a urological emergency involving persistent, non-sexually stimulated erections. Failing to seek timely treatment for such a condition could result in lifelong erectile dysfunction.
High-flow priapism occurs when there is excessive arterial blood flow into the penile corpora cavernosa, but venous outflow remains unobstructed. In this case, the smooth muscle of the cavernosal sinus fails to relax, and the excess inflowing blood only partially fills and expands the sinusoidal spaces.
The doctor eventually performed a penile arteriography and minimally invasive surgery, implanting gelatin (a temporary embolic agent) and four platinum microcoils between an abnormal artery and vein in the man’s corpora cavernosa, which finally caused the erection to subside.
This case was also published in the latest issue of the Irish Medical Journal. One month after the surgery, the man was able to achieve normal erections and engage in sexual intercourse.
(China Times)