TORONTO —
A just lately revealed medical case report has described intimately the end result of a person who was bitten in his genitals by a snake.
Based on the case report revealed in Urology Case Experiences, the 47-year-old Dutch man had been on trip in South Africa. He was in any other case wholesome and was utilizing a rest room when he was attacked by a snouted cobra that was hiding in the bathroom bowl.
“Throughout this time, he felt a burning sensation in his genitals and a ache that ascended by his groin to his flank, higher chest and stomach. He additionally reported vomiting however no neurological signs,” the authors wrote.
The authors say their case report is the primary to explain a chunk from a snouted cobra, a extremely venomous species of cobra generally present in southern Africa, to the genitals.
After the snake chunk, the person waited three hours for a helicopter to take him to the closest trauma centre, situated 350 kilometres away.
“His penis and scrotum had been famous to be swollen, deep purple in color, and painful on hospital admission,” the report states.
The authors say this means scrotal necrosis, which is the demise of physique tissue within the scrotum space. Medical doctors administered eight doses of snake venom antiserum in addition to tetanus prophylaxis as he was taken into intensive care. He additionally acquired treatment for his fever in addition to acute kidney harm.
After one week, a urologist carried out surgical debridement on his scrotum, which entails eradicating the broken pores and skin. The harm to his penis was handled with debridement and a vacuum-assisted closure pump
9 days after the snake chunk, the person was taken to a hospital within the Netherlands. Dutch urologists noticed that the wound on the scrotum seemed secure and cleaned up the wound on the penis with a vacuum pump. The person additionally acquired purple blood cell and potassium dietary supplements.
Six days after returning to the Netherlands, a plastic surgeon reconstructed the penile shaft and positioned a pores and skin graft over the penis. After two weeks, he was discharged. When medical doctors adopted up after a yr, they reported that the person’s wounds had healed and “penile operate and sensation had totally recovered.”
“Our take house message? At all times flush the bathroom earlier than sitting down in international locations infamous for his or her snake inhabitants!” the authors wrote.
