case study: tattoo leaves man semi-erect for life

the man waited three months to seek medical attention and initially lied to doctors about what happened.

by dave yasvinski

published jan 28, 2021

last updated feb 04, 2021

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case study: tattoo leaves man semi-erect for life

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each week we comb through science journals to explore a baffling medical issue.the writing was on the… er, wall for a 21-year-old iranian man in after he decided to honour his girlfriend by getting a tattoo on his penis. proving romance is alive and well, the man willingly paid real money to have the words “borow be salaamat” — a persian phrase meaning “good luck with your journeys” — permanently etched on his penis, according to a 2012 livescience article. he included the letter m, the first initial of his girlfriend’s last name, so there could be no doubt about the special lady in his life. unfortunately, not unlike cupid’s arrow, the tattoo needle went awry and caused deep tissue bleeding that resulted in eight days of pain and left the man’s member in a permanent state of semi-erection known as priapism. the condition is typified by a persistent erection that isn’t caused by sexual stimulation or one that endures hours beyond sexual activity has ended, according the mayo clinic. it usually affects men 30 years of age or older and requires immediate attention to avoid the risk of permanent erectile dysfunction. numbers are hard to come by, but a study in the journal of sexual medicine found 8,700 men in the u.s. visited emergency rooms with priapism over one three-year period. the patient in this case waited three months to seek medical attention and initially lied to doctors about how he went from grower to shower in the span of a day. “the patient initially stated that the tattoo had been created years ago, but later admitted that he had it created just before the occurrence of priapism,” doctors wrote in his case study. “a traditional tattooist created the tattoo manually, using a handheld needle. bleeding from deep penile tissue for several days complicated the tattooing.”
before the man came clean about his less than enjoyable journey, doctors investigated and ruled out other possible causes — such as a urinary tract infection, syphilis and leukemia — while in search of the real culprit. he was soon diagnosed with the first known case of nonischemic priapism, a version of the condition that ensues when blood enters the penis faster than it can drain out. the resulting pressure results in an enduring state of semi-erection. this version is less serious than ischemic priapism, which results when a patient has an erection but blood is no longer flowing in or out of the penis. permanent damage can result without prompt medical attention. to relieve the situation, doctors referred the patient to have a shunt inserted to allow the excess blood to be drained. unfortunately, the procedure did not work and the man decided to forego further surgery and simply live life as is. “at present, the patient continues to have priapism,” the doctors wrote. “because of the painless nature of erections, moderately good preservation of erectile function during intercourses and disappointment with former surgery, the patient declined further therapies, and he lives with his condition.” anyone with an unwanted erection that endures for more than four hours is strongly encouraged to seek medical attention. and while the 21-year-old in this case said he had no regrets about turning his penis into a fortune cookie, his doctors — and, let’s face it, common sense — strongly advise against it. dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca  don’t miss the latest on covid-19, reopening and life. subscribe to healthing’s daily newsletter covid life.