A MAN has been awarded €49,000 after a Valencia region hospital bungled a procedure on his penis, which days earlier had been permanently erect for over 30 hours.
An operation to insert a penile prosthetic was not done properly and it fell out after a few days.
The man’s wife will also get €5,000 in ‘moral’ damages from the region’s health department.
ONTINYENT’S OLD HOSPITAL BUILDING IN 2020
The pay out ends a four-year battle between the 36-year-old patient from Albaida and Valencian authorities.
The victim went to a health centre in his town in 2020 after suffering a permanent erection for four hours.
He was diagnosed with priapism- a condition of the penis that happens without sexual arousal or stimulation.
It can be very painful and lasts normally for up to four hours.
The man was told to go to Ontinyent Hospital where the doctors delayed treating him.
After no improvement for 20 hours after the first visit to the hospital, the man and his wife made another trip.
He was discharged with no improvement but walked away with a preferential appointment with the urology department.
Minutes later, the couple decided that wasn’t good enough and they went back in and were referred to the Lluis Alcanyis Hospital in Xativa.
XATIVA HOSPITAL
Doctors there admitted him and diagnosed with having a fever as well as priapism.
Once the fever was brought under control, he was discharged, but a few days later he underwent an operation to place a malleable penile prosthetic which happened without incident.
Days after the surgery, the prosthetic ‘came out’ which according to the Valencian Community Legal Advice Council was down to ‘poor placement’.
That led to a permanent erectile dysfunction, as well as a loss of sensitivity and strength in his right arm, plus pain in his left leg.
The couple will receive close to €55,000 of damages in the next few weeks.
