A man chopped off his own penis with a blunt ax during a chilling case of drug-induced psychosis believed to be brought on by so-called ‘magic’ mushrooms.
The 37-year-old reportedly ate five dried magic mushrooms while staying alone at a holiday residence while depressed, as described in a Mega Journal of Surgery paper.
While under the influence of the drug, he decided to cut off his own penis with a ‘blunt ax’. According to the medical paper, he chopped his appendage into several pieces.
The man was in the throngs of drug induced psychosis when he mutilated himself (
Getty Images)
Although suffering “considerable blood loss” he managed to stem the blood loss by tying the wounded member off with a piece of 5mm cord.
He rescued the pieces of his penis and stored them in a jar full of soil and dirty snow. He then left the house looking for help and was found confused and bleeding by a passerby.
He was then rushed to hospital where the extent of his injuries were discovered. According to the paper: “examination showed an impressive bulging over the penile stump, and after removing the ligating cord, 800 ml of blood and clots discharged from the wound.”
A medical scan included in the paper describing the case (
megajournalofsurgery.com)
In some kind of miracle, surgeons managed to reattach the man’s penis, keeping the glans and the shaft intact. Despite this “three fragments of the penile shaft, with a total length of 5 cm, had to be removed.”
After the surgery the man continued to show psychotic symptoms and even threatened to leave the ward so he was transferred over to the ICU. The symptoms included “religious delusions and auditory hallucinations”.
Doctors closely monitored the patient to ensure the reattached appendage was healing.
A blurred image of the man’s wounds (
megajournalofsurgery.com)
Further details about the man have not been revealed by the medical paper titled Penile Replantation after Self-Amputation Following Psilocybin-Induced Drug Psychosis. It was carried out by two academics at a teaching hospital in Austria.
Despite the bloody incident, the patient later reported being able to use his penis nearly as normal and even claimed erections. The paper reads: “Achievement of erection is remarkable due to the extent of destruction of the penis”.
The paper included gruesome pictures of the man’s member post surgery that the Mirror.com has chosen not to republish unblurred.
According to the authors, the case shows “that immediate replantation, even of a significantly destroyed and contaminated amputate after an ischemia time of at least 9 hours, can lead to an acceptable cosmetic and functional result.”
