Cyclist left with seven-week erection after crossbar injury

An Irish cyclist who suffered an injury on the crossbar of his mountain bike that caused his penis to stay erect finally went to the Tallaght Hospital in Dublin after five weeks.

According to the Irish Medical Journal, the 22-year-old sustained ongoing “high-flow” priapism “with rigid erection.” The scary situation was caused by irregular bloodflow to his penis.

Priapism is “a prolonged, unwanted erection for more than four hours in the absence of sexual stimulation.”

After the man arrived at the hospital, he was treated with a pressure dressing for two weeks “but release of pressure caused immediate recurrence of priapism.”

Doctors eventually worked on an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein to reduce the amount of blood that was being supplied to the penis, ending the erection.

“We were very happy with the outcome,” said Dr. Ronan Browne. “It was an anxious time for the patient, as it would be for any young man.”

While he was suffering the erection, intercourse would have been “possible, but painful.” If he hadn’t received treatment, the man could have suffered a blood clot.

Browne called the case “unusual.”

[Irish Examiner] [Metro]