According to Urology Case Reports, a UK teenager was rushed to hospital after shoving a USB cable up his urethra.
CW: surgery, blood
People with penises may want to cross their legs because this story is about to make you feel very uncomfortable.
According to an article published in the medical journal, Urology Case Reports, an unnamed 15-year-old boy wanted “to measure the length of his penis triggered by sexual curiosity”. In order to do this, the patient used a USB cable – the things that should only be inserted into computers and other electronic devices.
As you can imagine, it all went horribly wrong.
The boy had managed to move the cable so far up his penis that doctors found “[the] two distal ports of the USD wire … protruding from the external urethral meatus whilst the middle part of the knotted wire remained within the urethra”.
In other words, the boy had managed to get the cable stuck in his scrotum with the rest of it hanging out.
According to the report, the teen had made multiple attempts to remove the USB cable himself. However, it ultimately resulted in him urinating blood and seeking urgent medical care.
I thought people still used rulers. https://t.co/8YMCVILVRh
— Frank Curzio (@FrankCurzio) September 18, 2021
The doctors at the teen’s local ER were unable to remove the offending object. They attempted to use “a rigid cystoscope” to enter the urethra. Typically, these instruments use “a blade or laser” to remove urethral tissue. However, the cable’s knot made it impossible for them to take it out.
Consequently, the boy’s family took him to University College Hospital London where he “confessed” his motivations for doing something incredibly dangerous.
Luckily for him, the doctors were able to remove the foreign object. After using X-rays to confirm the cable’s condition inside the boy, surgeons cut open his penis and the area between his testicles and anus.
They “noticed that the cable had been cut in two segments, and then removed both segments”.
Catheters were inserted into the boy for urine to be safely removed from his body. Two weeks later, doctors found that the teen had healed nicely and it was safe to take out the catheters. However, ongoing monitoring of the boy’s condition will be required.
According to the American Council on Science and Health, inserting objects into one’s urethra is more common than people would think.
“‘Cock-Stuffing’ or ‘urethral play’ includes inserting objects into the urethral opening often to the length of the shaft to enhance sexual stimulation. Some will extend even further into the bladder. It can be a fetish or proclivity anyone might try,” their website reads.
Teen undergoes emergency surgery after getting USB cord stuck in his penis. In his defense I can never plug in a USB cable the right side up on the first try ever.
— Adam Wolf (@AdamWolf77) September 19, 2021
While the journal article says that it can be a sign of “underlying mental disorders”, the teen was found to be a “fit and healthy [and dangerously curious] adolescent”.
If you’re into this, exercise caution!
