Self-Mutilation of the External Genitalia in Psychiatric Patients in Souro Sanou University Teaching Hospital: Two Cases Report and Literature Review
Year: 2023
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Over a period of three years, two cases of self-amputation of the external genitalia were recorded and managed in our urology division in Souro Sanou University Teaching Hospital. These were male patients and aged 18 years and 32 years respectively. They were irregularly followed up for psychiatric disorders. One was suffering from schizophrenia, the other from paranoid schizophrenia. The first patient self-mutilated with complete sectioning of the penis with a kitchen knife, while the second patient self-mutilated with partial amputation of the penis with exposure of the corpus cavernosa and the left testicle. Managed as an emergency from the onset, the reimplantation of the penile stump could not be carried out due to the lack of an efficient technical expertise with the availability of microsurgery. Hemostasis and refashioning of the amputation stump were performed with definitive urethrostomy for one and penile reconstruction on urethral catheter and directed healing for the other. Postoperatively the two patients were able to urinate through the urethrostomy but the cosmetic appearance of the external genitalia was unsatisfactory. Although rare, self-mutilations are dramatic and serious accidents that can be life-threatening and functionally disabling for patients. Their management must be multidisciplinary, involving urological surgeons, intensive care physicians, emergency physicians and psychiatrists with the treatment of the underlying psychiatric disorder.
Language: English
Subfield: Urology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4386846737