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A completely healthy Swedish man aimed to extend the length of his “manhood” with the help of science.
But instead of making his appendage longer, the 30-year-old cut his life short.
According to a report from the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the unidentified Swedish national requested a standard penile elongation and penile enlargement surgeries, which are often carried out in the same procedure.
The operation, which extracts unwanted fat cells from places such as the belly or the thighs and moved to the penis, carried on smoothly and was considered a success.
However, a crisis emerged during the enlargement process, as the patient’s heart rate soared, while his blood pressure and oxygen levels fell drastically.
The fat, which was intended for his penis, caused an embolism and ruptured a blood vessel.
The man soon had a sudden cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead within two hours—despite CPR and emergency treatment.
“This is the first described case where a seemingly simple and safe procedure of penis enlargement by autologous fat transfer caused sudden death in a healthy young man,” a statement from the case study read.
It is also worth noting that aside from a minor case of asthma, the deceased suffered from no other pre-existing medical conditions.
Meanwhile, penis enhancement surgery has became a popular trend among men in recent years and has been considered a relatively safe procedure.
However, researchers warned of its potential health risks, particularly with the use of gluteal lipoinjection, where fat is transferred to a person’s buttocks.
“Perhaps the risk of fat embolisation is higher when pretraumatized tissue is subjected to fat injection, like in this case, where a penis elongation by loosening of a penile ligament was performed before the fat injection,” the report said.
Furthermore, the case is believed to be the first reported penile enlargement operation-related death, but other patients cited problems such as severe skin damage and urethra-related issues.
Despite the risks, around 8,400 penis enlargement surgeries are performed worldwide each year, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Khristian Ibarrola /ra