Australian man has surgery to remove batteries from his urethra, left with disfigured penis

A 73-year-old Australian man was forced to undergo urethra surgery after getting multiple button-style batteries stuck inside his penis, according to media reports from earlier this month.

The unnamed man’s case was published as a case study in the peer-reviewed academic journal Science Direct, under the title ‘“A button in my Benjamin” – Self-inflicted insertion of button batteries into the male urethra: Management and complications.’

‘“To the best of our understanding, this is the first reported case of urethral necrosis with button battery insertion,” the authors wrote.

This was not the first time that the man had inserted batteries into his penis, but the first time that he had been unable to remove them himself.

It was reported that the man attempted shockwave therapy on his genitals, having suffered from erectile dysfunction for many years beforehand.

Removing the batteries from the penis

The doctors tried several methods to remove the batteries, many of which were unsuccessful. As the risk of necrosis starts at only two hours after injury, the doctors were forced to work quickly. The situation was eventually resolved by way of forceps. 

“All extracted batteries were coated with black tar-like material,” the authors of the study wrote.

Despite the doctor’s successful extraction, the man returned to hospital only ten days later with pain and swelling in his penis. Doctors made an incision on the penis and drained a large amount of fluid, which indicated that the penis had developed necrosis. 

The man was forced to have his urethra removed, and his penis was left severely damaged despite later going through a complicated three-stage procedure of mucous membrane grafts.

The doctors concluded that the damage would be permanent and “decided that the best option would be for no further penile reconstruction.”