Man Nearly Lost His Penis After His Unkept Pubic Hair Cut Off Its Circulation

Here’s a cautionary tale on the importance of hygiene.

According to a recent article published in Urology Case Reports, a 57-year-old Australian man almost lost the tip of his penis after it was “strangled” by his unkept pubic hair. Doctors say the unidentified man went to his family doctor with extreme pain and swelling around his groin area.  Because the physician neglected to pull the man’s foreskin back, he didn’t properly identify the issue.

The patient was eventually given some steroids to relieve the symptoms; however, his conditioned worsened and he was then referred to Geelong University Hospital. It was there that doctors diagnosed the man with “hair tourniquet syndrome,” which occurs when hair tightly wraps around an appendage and cuts off its circulation. 

According to the report, the man’s pubic hairs had “matted together” and formed “a tight ring” around his penis. Doctors described the patient as an “unkept” man who suffered from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, depression, and anxiety. Medical experts believed the condition was due to the man’s poor hygiene, as he neglected to properly clean underneath the hood.

The man was told he would have to undergo surgery to save the remaining tissue. He reportedly freaked out after learning about the risks and fled the hospital, only to return a couple of days later. Doctors went on to reattach his urethra and gave him a permanent catheter so he could properly urinate. The physicians went against their advice and left the hospital after one day; however, he returned two weeks later after his penis flesh began eroding.

He was then transferred to the operating room for a second time. Doctors removed the bacteria, fitted him with another catheter, and performed circumcision. Though the second surgery was a success, doctors say the man’s penis was left with a deformity.

“This is an interesting but fortunately very rare condition,” Dr. Rich Viney, a urologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, told the Daily Mail. “… The reality is that this could’ve been avoided if the patient were to be undertaking suitable penile hygiene and washing beneath his foreskin regularly.”