Wednesday, July 17, 2013

UGANDA: Man loses penis in circumcision botch

New Vision (Uganda)
July 16, 2013

Man loses penis in medical circumcision


by Paul Kiwuuwa and Simon Masaba

At 44 years, Patrick Izimba, is a lost man after he lost his penis to a botched male medical circumcision procedure in a private clinic. Izimba is at Mulago Hospital... , where he has endured pain for the past three weeks.

Speaking with teary eyes, Izimba curses the day he read a sign post at the private clinic that offers free male medical circumcision.

“I underwent an operation at Medik Medical Centre Limited in Kawempe,” he says. “Free things are expensive they have cost me a life. I depend on pain relievers. My penis is falling off and requires me to wear a skirt.”

“Pain killers have become my daily bread because if I do not take them, I cannot sleep,” Izimba narrates. Izimba has a catheter connected to his bladder to allow urine to flow out.

He says Dr. Francis Kakooza, an employee with Medik Medical Centre, carried out the operation under the supervision of Dr. Edward Kunoya, the clinic’s director and proprietor. ...

Start of his woes
On the fateful day, Izimba met Dr. Kunonya who told him the circumcision was free, but he had to pay sh20,000 [$US 7.73] for the drugs. Izimba paid the money and was asked to bring Jik [bleach] and a polythene bag to place on the surgical table.

He recalls that before the surgery, Dr. Kakooza administered an injection which was painful. “I objected to the operation, but Kunonya shouted at me: ‘Be a man, don’t fear.’ Meanwhile, Kunonya sprayed something on my nose that threw me into sudden deep sleep,” Izimba recalls.

He woke up three hours later. “My penis was very stiff and I had lost a lot of blood. They bandaged the penis to prevent further bleeding. ...

“Kunonya transferred me to another room and I was put on a drip. I was weak. They gave me tablets to swallow. I had a sleepless night due to the pain and the penis remained stiff. The following day I reported for dressing in terrible pain, the penis skin became dry and pale,” he says.

On the third day, Izimba’s penis was still stiff; the skin had tuned so dark and began to peel off.

... Dr. Kunonya said: ... “Izimba developed a complication during the recovery period during the dressing when the skin started peeling off. ... Probably Izimba did not use the drugs as instructed. [Blame the victim.] Many patients have undergone operation in the clinic, but they heal within one week,” Kunonya said.

Expert opinion
A medical worker on routine ward duty at Mulago Hospital who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity described Izimba’s condition as “gangrene.” This means that blood supply to the penis has been cut off, evidenced by the pale skin.

“I suspect they injected certain drugs in the penile vein which blocked the supply of the blood to the penis, rendering the skin dry, causing the rotting,” the medical doctor says. He, however, says there is hope with plastic surgery to reconstruct the penis, to enable him pass urine, but not fulfill his conjugal rights. ... Izimba is married with two wives and seven children. ...

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