What is Penile Fracture?
The Penile fracture is an injury that happens only to an erect penis when bent forcefully. This fracture can even occur while you are having sex with your spouse. The penis becomes engorged with blood during an erection, filling two cylinders (corpora cavernosa). An engorged penis can burst one of the two cylinders’ outer linings if it is bent abruptly or violently (tunica albuginea). This Causes the Penile Fracture.
So, if you want to know all about Penile Fracture; its symptoms, treatments, and recovery. You should check out the article to the end.
Penile Fracture: Overview
| Problem | Penile Fracture |
| Symptoms | Pain Inside Penis, Difficulty in Urination |
| Causes | Blunt force injury to the erect penis |
| Risk factor | Masturbation, Sexual Intercourse |
| Treatment | Emergency Surgery |
| Frequency | 1 per 175,000 men per year |
Symptoms of Penile Fracture-
In accordance with research, doctors say that fracture; has a major popping sound or makes you lose an erection. But it generally takes what doctors say as an “eggplant” issue. In which the penis turns extremely swollen and purple in nature. There are some rare symptoms of Penile fracture are blood in urine and swelling around the scrotum. A doctor uses some physical exams and imaging techniques to exactly get a clear picture of the causes of Penile fracture. Some of the common symptoms of Penile Fracture are as follows-
- You can feel extreme pain inside penis and around the areas of your genitals; due to the fracture.
- There is extreme difficulty in urination and also pain during it.
- This may also lead to losing erections in men, and also cause blood to drip from the penis.
- Your penis may bend in a way.
- There can be extreme bruising and redness in the injured area.
- Also, there can be a lot of rupture of veins and arteries of the vessels; around the pubic area.
Some of the causes of Penile fracture
The cause of Penile fracture is a sudden bend or trauma in the penis. Mainly due to the tearing of tunica albuginea in men. In some cases, the tissue under the tunica also tears down. A lot of bloodstreams are in these tissues; which help you in erection during the process of arousal. This major penile fracture; also can sometimes damage the urethra; which helps you during urination.
Some of the major causes of penile fracture can be-
- If the penis bends forcefully; during vaginal intercourse with your partner.
- Or as side effects of masturbation especially if you are often involved in traumatic and wild masturbation cycle.
- If you go to bed with an erect penis; and then roll onto the bed; can also be a cause of Penile Fracture.
- You get a sharp blow in your penis; due to injury or accident.
Risk factors with Penile Fracture
The fact is that the penile fracture can help in any of the sex positions. But in certain sex positions, it is much more dangerous. Also, it is believed that if the woman is on top during intercourse; it can make the risk of penile fracture higher in men. As if the penis; tries to forcefully enter the vagina it can forcefully bend and cause a fracture in the penis. Even women in all can put a lot of force on men; which can cause a fracture in the shaft of the penis of men.
Also, funnily but in some countries; there is a practice of penile cracking; at the shaft of the penis, as to get the sound of cracking. It is out of habit in men; just like some people crack their knuckles. This can be also a cause of penile fracture.
When to meet a doctor
A man who suspects that he may be suffering from the condition of penile fracture; must seek a doctor immediately. This problem is also considered a medical emergency by doctors; as it may permanently affect the sexual and urinary function of men. This problem mainly makes the mango in the emergency department. The faster a man goes into the medical emergency department; the more are chances to get full recovery. Thus, make it as fast as you can to reach a hospital and get treated by the doctor.
Diagnose Penile Fracture
After you see a doctor; the doctor can be sure to tell you if you suffer from a penile fracture or not. Also, if the doctor is confused and is not still sure about your condition; then he may send you to go through a medical imaging process. The medical imaging process for a penile fracture is as follows-
- Cavernosography is a special process; in which the die is inserted into your blood vessels. It is a type of special x-ray; which is done for diagnosing the Fracture.
- By using the sound wave technique; the inside of the penis is looked at; this is also known as ultrasound of the penis.
- The MRI technique; in which a detailed image of the inside of the penis is made.
38 per cent of the patients who have a penile fracture; also go through the problem of urethra damage. Therefore, a urine test is generally done to see the condition of the urethra in men.
During the urethra test; a die is injected into the urethra. Through which the abnormalities of the organ is seen using an x-ray sheet. This process also lets the doctors see the damage which may be caused in that area.
Treatment of Penile Fracture
The best is to see a doctor in this case; but until you reach a hospital. You can do some home remedies, which can help you ease a little bit of pain. The home remedies for a penile fracture are as follows-
- Take a cloth that has some ice cubes in it, and put it in the area of injury; to reduce the swelling.
- Empty the bladder using a Foley catheter; which will reduce the trauma in the penis area.
- You can also take an oral pill such as ibuprofen; to reduce the pain and swelling.
However, most doctors suggest penile surgery; to fully recover you from the pain of a penile fracture. Also, the doctors use stitches to rectify tunica albuginea and corpus cavernosum. The aim of the surgery is to give a man back his erections and make urinary function well. An untreated fracture can also lead to erectile dysfunction problems. It can also lead to many sexual problems in male like premature ejaculation, Retrograde Ejaculation etc.
Recovery of the process
It takes around 2 to 3 days to fully recover after the surgery. Also, some painkillers and antibiotics may be given to the patient.
After the surgery, it will take months to fully heal. You need to follow-up exam and possibly imaging studies to:
- You must check the progress of healing.
- Examine the veins and arteries in the penis.
- Check the blood flow
Also, your doctor will ask you not to have sexual intercourse for a month after surgery. However, surgery has good results, in 90% of the cases but also, some men may suffer from some side effects after surgery.
Take Away
The problem of penile fracture can be very severe and painful for the one going through it. Thus, you should seek the guidance of a doctor immediately after you think you have the condition. As the surgical process will make you feel better and ease your pain immediately. So, if you think you are going through the condition of fracture; consult the highly experienced sexologist of IASH, India; Dr Chirag Bhandari, who is extremely experienced and knowledgeable in the field of male sexual problems. For any more information, you can check it out on “IASH India“.
Frequently asked questions
Q1. How do long penile Fractures take to heal?
Ans- A four to six-week period of abstinence is often required for rehabilitation after a penile fracture; however, this period may extend if problems or healing issues arise.
Q2. Is the problem of a Penile fracture painful?
Ans- Yes, the condition fracture is an extremely painful condition; which requires immediate medical attention.
Q3. What is the cost of the surgical process of penile fracture in India?
Ans- The cost of the surgery for fracture is around 1,00,000 INR in India.
Q4. How Successful is the penile fracture surgery?
Ans- Patients who underwent surgery experienced fewer issues; 88.6% of them reported having enough erections for sexual activity without any voiding dysfunction or penile curvature, as opposed to 66.7% of patients who underwent conservative management.
