At first, it was a mystery as to why a man in his 60s presented to urology with penile pain, swelling, and increasing trouble emptying his bladder, as his history was "vague and inconsistent."
But eventually, his medical team learned that he had inserted a phone cable into his urethra 10 years earlier and never sought help to get it removed.
All that time, he had been asymptomatic -- but he had now developed sepsis, Antoni Jakub Bochinski, MBBS, BSc, of the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in the U.K., and colleagues reported in BMJ Case Reports.
"Delays in seeking medical attention and concealment due to embarrassment for months or years are uncommon and ultimately these patients have a higher risk of complications due to foreign body-associated bacterial colonization and urinary tract obstruction," Bochinski and colleagues wrote.
"This case illustrates those hazards and highlights the value of sensitive history-taking, targeted imaging, and early multidisciplinary planning," they added.
