Man Claims He Had an 8-month-long Erection, Takes Doctor to Court

A New Jersey court heard arguments this week from a man seeking compensation after an unsuccessful penile implant operation left him with an erection that lasted eight months.

Daniel Metzgar, a 44-year-old truck driver had a three-piece, inflatable penile implant inserted in 2009, but claims to have had problems following the surgery, including an erection that caused him to retreat from much of life.

"I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner," Metzgar told a jury Monday, according to Delaware News-Journal, which reported that Metzgar said he was unable to enjoy riding his motorcycle and resorted to wearing baggy sweatpants to hide his situation.

According to WebMD, inflatable penile implants are a popular modern choice for men with erectile dysfunction. Two cylinders are surgically inserted in the penis and connected by tubing to a separate reservoir of fluid, which is implanted under the groin muscles. A pump used to inflate the system is situated near the testicles. When working properly, the system is said to make the penis stiff and thick, similar to a natural erection.

But Metzgar said his surgery was botched and took his surgeon to medical malpractice court.

Attorneys for the urologist who performed Metzgar's surgery, Dr. Thomas J. Desperito, argued that sometimes bad medical results occur through the fault of no one, adding that Metzgar should have known something was wrong after his scrotum reportedly swelled to the size of a volleyball, the News-Journal reported. Metzgar reportedly waited months before telling doctors something was awry.

Furthermore, the urologist's attorneys claim, after an April 2010 meeting with Desperito, Metzgar ignored advice to have the prosthesis removed.

Four months after Desperito reportedly suggested the penile implant be removed, the tubing from the device punctured Metzgar's scrotum during a family trip to Niagara Falls. Metzgar then underwent surgery to have the penile implant removed.

Metzgar later got a replacement implant from another doctor. He and his wife are seeking unspecified damages for the results of the first operation.