The strange case of the man who ejaculated from his rectum for two years
With the Covid-19 pandemic, you might have heard a lot of weird medical stories, but here's one that absolutely takes the cake. A team of doctors has reported on a very rare condition that left a man ejaculating and urinating from his rectum until he sought help. After 2 years, he was finally treated with surgery that helped set everything right. It's not entirely an accident or mutation though, the doctors noted the role of a botched prior surgery.
The man's condition isn't the first time weird medical stories have made the headlines. Back in 2020, former Page 3 girl Sam Smalling went viral for a photo that appeared to indicate she was pregnant but was really a PSA for irritable bowel syndrome. In 2018, we also reported on Caden Benjamin, an 11-year-old South African who was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, a condition that left him eating toilet paper and dirt. Earlier in 2021, we also reported on Hazel Grace Busby, a toddler with nystagmus.
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But while these conditions aren't super rare, the one we are about to describe is. In fact, it's so rare, it doesn't even have a name. But at least its cause did. The docs listed Rectourethral fistulas (RUF) as the cause for this poor man's weird condition.
A Curious Case of Rectal Ejaculation
That's the name of the paper the doctors published, describing the case. According to them, a 33-year-old man "presented with five days of testicular pain" and a "substantial amount of sperm passage from his rectum with ejaculation for the past two years." It's unclear when they examined the man, or where he was from. The report says for the past two years, he was passing gas in his urine, urinating fecal matter, and passing urine and semen from his rectum. Basically, the waste was not going out where it was supposed to.
On closer examination, the docs found the cause to be RUF or an abnormal passageway between the rectum and urethra. The passage was responsible for the issues and was therefore promptly fixed via surgery. If you are wondering how this came to be, the docs appeared to solve that mystery too. The docs say the man had a history of drug abuse, with one instance leading him to a three-week coma. During that time, he was fitted with a Foley catheter. They believe the passageway was an injury caused by that process.
So in conclusion, the man's woes led the team of docs to issue a very important PSA. "The importance of Foley catheters in healthcare is well-established. While it serves many uses in patient management, it is essential to stay wary of its complications as well," they wrote. The docs also added, "this case not only highlights a rare complication of catheter use but also emphasizes the importance of provider mindfulness when utilizing seemingly benign therapies such as Foley catheters."
You'll be glad to know the story has a happy ending. After surgery and some medication, the man appears fine. But it is a good warning of the dangers of surgery, so you know, maybe keep a close eye if you've just been out of the hospital.