Man hears ‘snap’ during sex, rushed to hospital with triple penis fracture

A man in Tanzania was sent to the hospital after hearing a “snap” during sex with his female partner.

The loud snap occurred “when the penis slipped out, lost the way” and struck the woman “as he was trying to reinsert it,” doctors reported in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

By the time the unlucky man arrived at the hospital, his penis — no longer erect — was swollen, painful and bloody.

Though the penis contains no bones, it’s referred to as “fractured” when its fibrous connective tissue, called the tunica albuginea, is injured or ruptured.

An MRI revealed that the man had injured his penis in three places along the tunica albuginea: in the pair of erectile tissue bodies known as the corpora cavernosa and in another area called the corpus spongiosum.

Additionally, he had sustained a partial tear through the urethra, the tube that carries semen and urine out of the penis.

Penis fracture is usually considered an uncommon condition, but nobody knows how often it really occurs because many men are too embarrassed to seek medical treatment for it.

However, cases of penis fracture are rising, according to statistics from the British National Health Service, which revealed a 38% increase in the condition from 2014 to 2020, according to the Sun.

The growth in penile breakage may be due to an increase in the use of erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra, or the viewing of online pornography that encourages unusual sex positions, doctors speculate.

Penis breakage usually occurs during sexual intercourse, according to a 2014 study from Brazil. It has also occurred during “energetic masturbation,” rolling over in bed or banging an erect penis into a door or wall, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The Brazilian study also revealed that the riskiest sex position for penis fracture is with the man’s partner on top — sometimes called “the world’s most dangerous position” — followed by “doggy style” sex.

The penis can also be fractured by practicing “taqaandan,” a Kurdish word meaning “to click.” Taqaandan involves bending the top of an erect penis while holding the lower shaft in place until a click is heard and felt.

A fractured penis is usually accompanied by a snapping or cracking sound, bleeding, an immediate loss of erection and sharp pain. The injured penis, looking swollen and purple with a severe bruise, may be referred to as having an “eggplant deformity.”

Doctors warn that a penis fracture isn’t something to ignore, as it can lead to erectile dysfunction, difficulty urinating and Peyronie’s disease, which can lead to bent erections, pain in the penis with erections and penile plaque, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Like most men who seek treatment for penis fracture, the patient from Tanzania promptly had surgery on his penis. Within three days he was discharged from the hospital, and a catheter in his urethra was removed after 21 days.

“He was seen at the clinic six month post-operative where he reported to have resumed his sexual life with no any difficulties and the penile shaft looked OK,” his doctors reported.