August 9, 2019
Docs Diagnose NYC Man with Rare Condition: His Penis is Turning to Bone
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
A 63-year-old man who had suffered a fall in the street got the shock of his life when he went in to get checked over and X-rays indicated that while he had no broken bones, he was actually gaining bone... in a not-so-welcome place.
UK newspaper the Daily Mail reported on the story, detailing how the unidentified gent took a tumble and landed hard on his backside. Worried about knee pain he noticed afterward, went into Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, which is located in the Bronx.
There, doctors took X-rays of his pelvic region to confirm that the man had not fractured any bones in that area. But the X-ray films showed the presence of bone tissue in the man's penis - a rare condition, but not unheard of.
The Daily Mail went on to report that the condition is associated with Peyronie's disease, which is characterized by scarring within the tissues of the penis. The scarring can cause the penis to bend in unusual directions. But it can also lead to a process called ossification, in which deposits of calcium begin to accumulate.
Ossification can happen in various soft tissues. In the penis, the Mail noted, it takes place in an internal lining of the penis called the Bucks fascia.
The Mail reported that when he was notified of the condition, the man got up and left.
In a paper written after the man's hospital visit, the physicians who saw him wrote that they had not been able to determine what caused the condition in his case, "since our patient decided to leave against medical advice."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
