‘Putting lead in your pencil’: Self-insertion of an unusual urethral foreign body for sexual gratification

Self- insertion of foreign bodies into the urethra and bladder, usually for sexual gratification and auto-eroticism especially during male masturbation, is an unusual but important condition which urologists will encounter.1 Patients thereafter usually feel embarrassed and tend to avoid seeking immediate medical help.2The urological consequences of this type of behaviour can be significant and the implications for patients can be serious including death from sepsis.3,4 Over the last decade, reports in the literature of self-inserted intra-vesical and intra-urethral foreign bodies have increased. We present a case of self-insertion of household batteries into the urethra for sexual pleasure during masturbation. We review possible motives for insertion of foreign bodies in to the urethra and discuss clinical presentation, as well as diagnosis and management of such patients.

Below:  Pelvic radiograph showing two batteries in the urethra

Below:  An endoscopic view of the batteries prior to their removal

Read more at:  http://ht.ly/ScU1D 

By: Nishant Bedi, Tamer El-Husseiny, Noor Buchholz, and Junaid Masood
Department of Urology, Bart's and The London NHS Trust, London, UK