1. CASE PRESENTATION
A 24‐year‐old man presented to the emergency department (ED) with a penetrating injury to the penis (Figure 1). The patient denied other injuries. On presentation, the patient had stable vital signs and was calm.
FIGURE 1.
The foreign object is seen imbedded up to the hilt in the dorsal mid‐shaft of the penis
2. DISCUSSION AND DIAGNOSIS
2.1. Taser barb injury to penis
This patient sustained a Taser barb injury to the shaft of the penis while being arrested by police. Police confirmed that electricity was administered to subdue the patient. The majority of health concerns regarding Taser injury are theoretical. 1 In 1 case series, 99.75% of patients had either no injuries or only minor injuries resulting from the Taser barbs. 2 We found no other reports of penile injury by Taser barb in the medical literature; however, the lay press has many unconfirmed reports. Taser injury to the testes has been discussed elsewhere. 3 , 4 , 5
Approximately 1% of patients injured by a Taser develop moderate rhabdomyolysis; however, this finding is confounded by concomitant phencyclidine toxicity. 5 Our patient did not suffer any apparent injury attributed to electricity administration via the Taser.
Our patient's barb needed to be removed without causing further injury. The hub has a metal groove along the side (Figure 2) that indicates the location of the barb hook. Cutting with the scalpel in line with this groove allowed the treating team to free the barb with minimal additional trauma to the patient. The patient was observed in the ED for 2 hours post‐procedure for evidence of hematoma formation.
FIGURE 2.
A deep groove can be seen along the hub of the Taser barb corresponding with the hook of the barb
On outpatient urology follow‐up, the patient did not have any cosmetic or functional deficits.
Bralow LM, et al. Misfire: A man with genital trauma. JACEP Open. 2022;3:e12875. 10.1002/emp2.12875
Presented as an image competition poster at American Academy of Emergency Medicine 2022 Annual Scientific Assembly in Baltimore, MD, April 23–27, 2022.
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