Rare accident: Loss of all skin on penis and one testicle due to being bitten by a pig

27/07/2023 14:15

While entering the barn to feed the sows and deliver newborn piglets, a 70-year-old man (Thanh Hoa province) was attacked by a pig, which resulted in the loss of almost all the skin of his penis and the loss of his right testicle.

  Dr. Trinh Hoang Giang, MD, PhD – Deputy Director of the Center for Andrology, Viet Duc University Hospital, who operated on emergency for patient, said that the male patient was admitted to the hospital with total skin loss of his penis as well as right testicle. The patient has undergone surgery to clean, irrigate and debride the wounds of external genitalia, leaving the skin edges open because contaminated wounds caused by animal bites have a high risk of infection and necrosis. After that, the patient has to undergo at least 2 more surgeries. One is to cover the skin of the penis inside a skin pouch of the abdomen. After 3 months, doctors will divide these abdominal skin flaps to reconstruct the patient’s penis.

According to Dr. Trinh Hoang Giang: Injury to the external genitalia caused by an animal bite is a rare injury in andrology reports. Wounds to the external genitals can be caused by many different things: during wartime due to explosive shrapnels, traffic accidents, direct trauma to the scrotum – perineum complex causing extensive loss of tissue, falling or playing sports competitions due to being kicked in the scrotum-penis area. In daily family life, the penis – scrotum can be bitten, injury or torn off by others in crimes of passion, etc. Some others have mental problems such as depression causing self-harm resulting in patients mutilating or cutting off their own external genitalia.

  In rural Vietnam, external genital wounds are often caused by dog and pig bites. Dogs often attack children and the elderly when they are urinating, while pig bites often happen when castrating pigs as one usually turns the pig’s head upside down and clamping the pig between their highs. When pigs are in pain, they would struggle and bite aimlessly, sometimes hitting the penis (in which case the penis is often completely severed). Some are bitten by a sow after giving birth if they try to catch her babies. The patient mentioned above falls into this category.

  Wounds to the external genitalia not only affect the reproductive function of the patient, but also severely affect their psychology and their sex life.

The doctor recommended that everyone need to ensure labor safety, barns must have high enough barriers to prevent cattle from attacking people. When in direct contact with livestock, labor protection must be worn. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer an injury to the scrotum and penis, you should immediately go to an andrologist for timely treatment.