Generalized Subcutaneous Emphysema Caused by Injection of Air into the Penis for Autoerotic Purposes
A 31-year-old man came to our emergency room seeking medical attention for severe neck pain. He informed us that 2 days before, after excessive consumption of alcohol, he had made an incision into the skin of his penis below the frenulum by means of a needle in order to insufflate air into the opening with a standard ball pump (fig. ) for autoerotic purposes. He had been suffering from severe pain in the neck area since the morning.\nBelow the frenulum, a reddened incision of approximately 5 mm in diameter could be seen which extended into the hypodermis. Apart from that, the penis was without pathological symptoms such as swelling, hyperthermia or redness. Also, the penis was not rigid and there were no crepitations. In the neck area and on the remaining trunk, crepitations could be felt. This was where the patient's pain was located, radiating dorsolaterally from the cervical area into the trapezius muscle.\nThe psychological exploration of the patient's sexuality clarified that he had distinctive sadomasochistic masturbation fantasies. The patient had not pursued these sadomasochistic thoughts so far because he had not been aware of them.\nThe laboratory results were unremarkable. Because the patient was capable of spontaneous and pain-free micturition and the external examination showed no anomalies, a cystoscopic examination of the urethra was not carried out. A CT examination of the abdomen revealed generalized subcutaneous emphysema extending from the scrotum to the abdomen and the cervix (fig. ).\nThe patient was admitted for observation. He received antibiotic treatment with a gyrase inhibitor in order to avoid an infection of the area around the frenulum. The medical focus was on the neck pain caused by the air gradually travelling through the hypodermis from the genital area to the cranial area. The pain was stabilized without difficulty by means of metamizole. After 2 days, it was no longer possible to detect any crepitations in the neck area.