It’s no surprise that men are a bit sensitive when it comes to talking about genital surgery but, still, there are plenty of guys willing to go under the knife in the hopes of gaining a bigger penis. Penile surgery, officially referred to as phalloplasty, may be a wince-worthy subject for some but it’s an area growing in popularity. Several clinics have popped up across the globe with a handful of doctors who have chosen to specialize in the field. While the future of phalloplasty looks bright, the fact is that accidents still happen and, when they do, the results can be tragic.

AN 8 MONTH ERECTION

In 2009, Delaware truck driver Daniel Metzgar sought help with impotence. His doctor at the time, Dr. Thomas Desperito, agreed to give Metzgar a penile implant which consisted of cylinders placed inside the shaft of the penis, a fluid reservoir in the abdomen and a pump located in the scrotum. Initiating the pump would send the fluid from the reservoir to the cylinders in his penis resulting in an erection. Sexual performance was meant to be normal from that time onward, but that isn’t what Metzgar experienced. Problems after the surgery resulted first in Metzgar’s scrotum swelling up but, once that was over, he had a more serious problem.

Metzgar found one day that he couldn’t relieve the erection, no matter what he tried. He sought help at a local hospital but they were unable to help and could no reach Dr. Desperito. In the end, Metzgar had to cope with having a full-on erection for 8 continuous months. Eventually, Metzgar took his urologist to court, claiming the problem had seriously affected his life, making it nearly impossible to go to family functions or even simply go to the store without having people point and stare. Eventually, Metzgar had the implant removed after one of the components punctured his scrotum. He claimed scarring from the ordeal had left him 50% smaller than he had been before the surgery. The jury, however, found no obvious negligence on the part of Dr. Desperito and, in 2013, they rejected Metzger’s court case.

DRIVEN TO KILL

An 8 month erection is bad enough, but what if complications as a result of penile surgery drove someone to kill? That’s exactly what many people think happened in the English town of Slough in February of 2014. Michael Wenham, a married father of three, underwent penile enlargement but the surgery was a complete failure. In fact, Wenham went from 5 inches of length before the surgery to only 3 inches after. This reportedly made him feel even more self-conscious than before and played directly into his insecurities over having a small penis. In February of 2014, Wenham left his home for work but instead called in sick at his job in IT, purchased a disposal mobile phone and booked in an appointment with Karolina Nowikiewicz, a prostitute who advertised locally. He went to her apartment and slashed her throat with a Stanley knife before calmly taking a shower and then putting in phone calls to the police and his wife.

In court, his wife testified that the husband had a number of problems regarding his penis size and would often make her talk about the size of penis even as they were having sex. During her testimony, she told the court “He likes me to degrade him. He would ask me to say things to him like what a small penis he had and just generally sort of put him down.” His wife’s testimony also hinted at deeper problems plaguing the man as did testimony from a number of others who claimed he had discussed “wanting to be a serial killer” and other disturbing fantasies. In the end, the court rejected his plea of Not Guilty for murder after a jury voted unanimously to convict him in early 2015.

While there are plenty of jokes that take pot shots at penis size, these two cases illustrate just how extreme the issue can become. These men may represent one end of the spectrum, but their stories serve as a cautionary tale for others.