Man sues doctor after surgery leaves him with eight-month erection
- - Daniel Metzgar, 44, had the surgical procedure in 2009 but claims it was botched in
- a medical malpractice lawsuit
- - Everyday chores - such as riding in his motorbike or collecting his newspaper -
- became a problem because he was 'stuck in this position'
By ANNA EDWARDS
|
The driver (not pictured) had a three-piece inflatable penile implant fitted by surgeon Dr. Thomas J. Desperito
A truck driver is suing a doctor after he was left with an erection that lasted for eight months and a scrotum the size of a volleyball following penile implant surgery.
Daniel Metzgar, 44, had the surgical procedure in 2009. This week, a medical malpractice lawsuit a heard claims that the surgery had been botched.
The Newark truck driver's attorney, Michael C.
Heyden, told a court that everyday tasks - such as riding in his motorbike or collecting his newspaper - became a problem for Mr Metzgar as he was 'stuck in this position'.
The driver had a three-piece inflatable penile implant fitted by surgeon Dr. Thomas J. Desperito.
The urologist fitted inflatable cylinders inside the shaft of the penis, a fluid reservoir under the abdominal wall and a pump inside the scrotum, The News Journal reported.
But attorneys for Dr Desperito, who denies responsibility, claim that occasionally bad medical results can occur without it being anyone's fault.
They suggested the truck driver should have realised something was wrong when his scrotum swelled to the size of a volleyball after the December surgery.
But the 44-year-old did not alert anyone to the problem until April.
The prosthesis was eventually removed in August 2010, after tubing from the device punctured his scrotum during a family trip to Niagara FallS
Colleen D. Shields, acting for the doctor, told the court that her client advised the patient to have the prosthesis removed after he complained of an infection and that the erection wasn’t going down, four months after the implant was fitted.
Ms Shields claims that despite the warning, Mr Metzgar did not act for months following the April 2010 visit.
HOW PENILE IMPLANT SURGERY WORKS
The surgical implant most often used involves an inflatable device; two cylinders are placed in the penile tissue and these are connected to a pump in the scrotum.
When a man wants to have sex, he squeezes the pump in the scrotum and the cylinders are filled with fluid kept in a reservoir in the abdomen.
Penile implants can be:
- semi-rigid implants – which may be suitable for older men who do not have sex regularly inflatable implants – which consist of two or three parts that can be inflated to give a more natural erection.
Penile implants are not usually available on the NHS and inflatable implants are typically expensive.
The prosthesis was eventually removed in August 2010, after tubing from the device punctured his scrotum during a family trip to Niagara Falls.
Metzgar told the court he had become withdrawn and avoided social situations because of his constant erection.
'I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner,' he said.
The lawsuit brought against Wilmington urologist Dr Desperito is being heard in New Castle County Superior Court in Wilmington this week, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Metzgar and his wife, Donna, are seeking unspecified damages from Dr Desperito and his medical group.
A penile implant is an inflatable device consisting of two fluid-filled cylinders which are surgically inserted into the penis and connected to a separate reservoir of fluid, and a pump which lies under the skin of the scrotum.
The mechanical pump is squeezed to push fluid up the cylinders and, once full, the penis becomes rigid — a process that takes between five and ten seconds.
The erection remains until the deflate button is pressed.
A penile implant can be used as a long-term solution for men with severe erectile dysfunction problems caused by a wide range of conditions including diabetes, prostate cancer surgery, Peyronie's disease and age-related vascular disease.
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