Can a man break his ‘transformer’?

The lowest moment in a man’s life would be when something affects his business end ‘downstairs.’

All of us witnessed the outcry on social media a while back when a Nyeri man fell victim to a ‘knifey’ wife – who didn’t hesitate to ‘decapitate’ the sensitive part of the male anatomy.

Now, imagine a man’s agony when he breaks his penis! Yes, broken. Just like you, I was relatively new to broken penises. It is a real occurrence, as real as the pain of a chopped phallus.

Broken bones many can relate to. It is not the same with broken penises. However, Dr Stephen Mutiso, a gynaecologist at KNH, says that men can actually ‘break’, the organ. “Trauma to the penile shaft can cause serious injuries,” he says. He adds that: “The extent of the injury depends on the state of organ at the time it occurred.”

In March 2015, Mail Online carried the story of an anonymous man who “had a snap after his penis collided with his partner’s perineum,” that hard, bony part just before the anus. The man suffered serious injuries to his veins, and blood gushed out through the urethra. Later, the publication reports, doctors who treated the bloke discovered that the snap had led to a serious tear. Usually, Mutiso says, if treatment is done without delay, the organ can be salvaged – to full function.

But the said man’s doctors pointed to Mail Online that such injuries can cause a curve or bend in the penis and damage to the nerves in the genitals. Erectile dysfunction is also possible depending on severity. And what would lead to a man breaking his penis? Well, one Chinese man, identified as a Mr Yu, found out on a motorcycle. While riding at the back, with a passenger and the rider before him, he had been viewing pornographic material on his phone. The fun was short-lived as the motorcycle hit a speed bump, sending them sprawling on the tarmac, reported The Shanghiist.

It is not known exactly how Yu hit the ground. The impact however crushed his penile shaft, later causing erectile dysfunction. Not being able to use his organ led Yu to sue the motorcycle rider. Mutiso ‘broken’ penis is only occur when be man from only possible when the penis is erect. And while the organ is not made of bones, traumatic injuries when the organ is hard may have led to the coining of the term, ‘broken penis.’ It is thought to occur when sudden enormous pressure is applied, which may cause a snapping sound.

In some instances, a broken penis may block blood flow, keeping the penis erect indefinitely. In such a situation, medicine to prompt circulation may be used. If that does not work, “we may need to drain the blood surgically,” says Mutiso.