A man received a botched penile implant and had an erection that lasted eight months, according to the Delaware News Journal.
Daniel Metzgar a 44-year old Newark truck driver received a penile implant in 2009 from Wilmington urologist Dr. Thomas J. Desperito.
The man experienced an eight-month erection that just refused to go down, Metzgar is now suing Dr. Desperito.
"Dan is stuck in this position," his attorney Michael C. Heyden told the News Journal.
Heyden claims the condition really interfered with the man's everyday activities, family get-togethers were uncomfortable and riding his motorcycle was impossible.
Metzgar had an inflatable penile implant inserted that consisted of three pieces: "inflatable cylinders inside the shaft of the penis, a fluid reservoir under the abdominal wall and a pump inside the scrotum."
He originally opted for the implant in an effort to improve his love life.
The urologist's attorney, Colleen D. Shields, argued during the medical malpractice lawsuit hearing that medical malfunctions could happen with no fault to the doctor. The attorney said the patient should have told doctor's the implant wasn't taking well when his "scrotum swelled to the size of a volleyball," instead Metzgar kept quiet until April of 2010.
Shields argued the urologist told Metzgar that he had to have the implant removed when he came in to complain about the infection that April. Metzgar had lost his insurance by that time and didn't have the money for the $10,000 procedure that would remove the implant.
"I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner," Metzgar said in the hearing. "It's not something you want to bring out at parties and show to friends."
The implant was not removed until it punctured the man's scrotum while he was on a family trip to Niagara Falls in August of 2010.
Metzgar claimed he'd gotten a new implant from another doctor, but the previous procedure left him about 50 percent smaller, with scar tissue that keeps him from experiencing full sensation.
Metzgar and his wife are seeking undisclosed damages from Desperito's medical group.
