Boy in bizarre 'fish in penis' accident
Video stills by Vezhaventhan and Jeyaraman
Doctors treating a 14 year old boy from India were shocked to find a 2cm long fish had "slipped" up his penis and into his bladder.The patient, who was admitted to hospital with complaints of pain, dribbling urine and acute urinary retention spanning a 24-hour period, gave an interesting explanation.
Details of the case, which was documented in The Internet Journal of Urology, have revealed that the patient claimed that the fish "slipped" into his penis while he was maintaining his aquarium.
Did it jump or was it pushed?
The paper's authors, Professor G Vezhaventhan and Professor R Jeyaraman, wrote: "While he was cleaning the fish tank in his house, he was holding a fish in his hand and went to the toilet for passing urine.
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"When he was passing urine, the fish slipped from his hand and entered his urethra and then he developed all these symptoms.
"Mentally he was sound and clinically he was absolutely a normal person with no previous history of any psychiatric illness."
Removal
Closer examination using an X-ray failed to show anything, but an ultrasonagram check of the boy's abdomen revealed a full bladder and a small "echogenic object", indicating the presence of a foreign body in the urinary bladder.Vezhaventhan and Jeyaraman then used a technique known as cystourethroscopy to insert a special set of forceps attached down the boy's penis.
Unfortunately, the fish was just too slippery to grip, so they resorted to using a rigid ureteroscope with a tool attached that is normally used for removing bladder stones.
The fish the urologists removed, which Practical Fishkeeping believes to be a small member of the Betta genus, measured 2cm long and 1.5cm wide. It's definitely not a Candiru.
Foreign bodies
Vezhaventhan and Jeyaraman report that a range of self-inflicted foreign bodies have been previously removed from the male genitalia and lower urinary tract.However, the authors claim that the case is the first evidence in the medical literature of fish traveling upstream in the urethra, crossing the external sphincter and entering the urinary bladder.
"These foreign bodies were inserted or applied for autoerotic, psychiatric, therapeutic, or no definite reasons by the patient.
"Most patients were too ashamed to admit they had inserted or applied any object and usually presented when a complication had occurred from the foreign body such as difficulty in voiding, hematuria, pain or swelling, extravasations or abscess formation. Our case is a peculiar one."
After the removal of the fish the boy's symptoms disappeared, but he was subsequently sent for psychiatric counseling.
For more information see the paper: G. Vezhaventhan, R. Jeyaraman (2007) - Unusual Foreign Body In Urinary Bladder: A Case Report. The Internet Journal of Urology. 2007. Volume 4 Number 2.
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Matt Clarke: 21.8.2008Views: Read 133,287 times
Comments feed
"It did not jump, it had to have been pushed.. "
Posted by: Chris Green - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Thursday August 21st, 2008, 9:47 pm
"It's an odd world we live in!"
Posted by: Gareth Bull - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Thursday August 21st, 2008, 11:24 pm
"I find this story hard to believe as how the entered his bladder. How many people do you know that hold there pet fish in their hand while relieving them self. Sound just to FISHY."
Posted by: John Deangelis - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 1:08 am
"1. Poor fish!
2. How embarrassing for the lad!
3. As far as I can tell, that image from the ultrasound could be a survey of the bottom of the ocean, for all it shows. Although I'm sure women who have had children will be able to identify everything in it; they seem to be able to make splodges on them out to be developing foetuses after all!"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 1:55 am
"I have the grave suspcision that perhaps this young man decided to put his penis into the aquarium following which the fish swam up his urethra.... however it happened I am sure that it wasnt a complete accident.
There are tales of fish swimming up urethras in various parts of the developing world, but these usually swim up, stick out their pectoral fins and start feeding..... NOT nice!"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 12:06 pm
"Yes ok, I admit it, I too have a habit of taking a few guppies and corys to the toilet when I get caught short while cleaning my tank.
I can imagine the horror of 'forgetting' you've got them in your hand and then whooosh, down the chute it goes!
Poor lad..."
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 12:56 pm
"You aren't being serious right?"
Posted by: Eric James Andrikis - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 1:11 pm
"This story reminds me of an artichle I read a few years ago. A man went to the doctors complaining about having trouble going to the toilet etc. When they incestigated he had the outer tubing of a ball point pen stuck in his uretha. It had been there so long the tissue had grown around the tube and he had to have quiet a major operation to have it removed.
He was said to have got it stuck there during some strange episode of self exploration 8 years previous and had sort of `forgot` it was there.
Practices such as this do date back to the 1800's when soldiers would apparently insert the lead shot from their muskets where they shouldnt to erm, intensify things.
It really is a strange world we live in ;-)"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 1:40 pm
"Many years ago I worked in a NHS Hospital and you would be amazed at some of the things people inserted into various orifices of their bodies and then presented themselves at casualty to have them removed."
Posted by: Raymond Saxton - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 3:32 pm
"seen as when you have a wee your penis isnt pointing upwards, i find it hard to imagin it somehow floated back up towards the hole lol."
Posted by: Aaron North - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 4:15 pm
"And he just forget he had the fish in his hands...... LOL"
Posted by: Bruce Jones - 1 year, 3 months agoDate: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 7:25 pm
"We all know we wouldnt carry a fish to the bathroom and it swim up a stream of urine. Its impossible. Also the fact he was sent for psychiatric counseling clearly points to intentional insertion.
"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 7:27 pm
"ewwwwww....... lol
either strange acts by a 14yr old boy or an extrodinary co-incidence lol poor fish"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 7:42 pm
"No I was being sarcastic lol How anyone could take a fish to the toilet and then lose it up their japs eye while peeing sounds like a bizarre scenario.
Wonder if he lost anymore fish while he was washing his hands.. or did he wash them?"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 10:48 pm
"there are some fish which follow the scent of urine and swim into the urethea, i agree with ben and the fish followed the scent when was going to the toilet in the wrong place aka the fish tank!.
"
Date: Friday August 22nd, 2008, 11:18 pm
"yes the candiru will swim up a ureathra but a betta? thats over a centimeter wide? hmm"
Posted by: Oliver Latham-holt - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Saturday August 23rd, 2008, 10:55 am
"I hope he's feeling Betta now..."
Posted by: Clive Witcomb - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Saturday August 23rd, 2008, 5:43 pm
"Don't forget - the fish was 1.5 cm wide!!!"
Posted by: Andrei Krylov - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Sunday August 24th, 2008, 5:57 pm
"This is bizarre, how did the fish manage to swim up his penis? "
Posted by: Dawn Davis - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Monday August 25th, 2008, 11:54 am
"it could of happend to anyone!"
Posted by: Tim Clark - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Monday August 25th, 2008, 3:05 pm
"At least he didn't try and do it with a Discus fish. Now THAT would've been a story!"
Posted by: Jamie Bates - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Saturday August 30th, 2008, 10:04 pm
"Hello Internet Superstar viewers!
(NSFW: http://revision3.com/interne... )"
Date: Tuesday September 2nd, 2008, 1:39 pm
"pschyatric evaluation???? who could ever understand what goes on in the head of a teenage boy I bet he wont be doing that again...ouch"
Posted by: Sarah Malone - 1 year, 2 months agoDate: Tuesday September 2nd, 2008, 10:58 pm
"Okay, at the very least, he could have come up with a BETTER lame excuse. Something like, "I really had to pee, couldn't make it to the bathroom, and went in the fish tank. Then, lo and behold, this little fish just swam right up the pee stream and kept right on going."
"Hmm, why didn't I come to the doctor sooner? Well, I figured he would just die anyway or I'd pee him back out."
At least TRY and make it feasable.
"
Date: Thursday September 4th, 2008, 2:49 pm
"Quelle coincidence.
The same thing happened to a buddy of mine last week...except it wasn't a betta, it was a porcupine fish. It was an honest mistake people.
Why must everyone be so cynical? ;-)"
Date: Thursday September 4th, 2008, 4:29 pm
"mmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Sure this shouldn't be in the april edition?
poor fish!
k"
Date: Saturday September 6th, 2008, 3:04 pm
"Heck, teenage boys do all sorts of things with their penises. Of course he put it up there; he was experimenting - no need for psychiatric counseling!
I'd be surprised if he was the first one to try in. Frankly, I'd opt for something a tad smaller like a danio margaritus or microrasboras nana if I wanted to put a fish in my urethra.
-Dee Dee K"
Date: Sunday March 29th, 2009, 2:30 pm
"his whole excuse sounds a bit fishy to me"
Posted by: Johanne Seymour - 6 months, 2 weeks agoDate: Wednesday May 6th, 2009, 4:47 am
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 | Editor-in-Chief, Matt Clarke, writes the regular Interesting Imports column on rare and unusual fish in the UK aquarium trade. He's kept fish for 30 years and holds a degree, two higher degrees and two diplomas in fish biology, taxonomy and computational biology. |
| More articles by Matt Clarke » | |
"OK boys hands up all those of you who hold a fish whilst cleaning it's tank. Right. Now how many would continue to hold that fish if they went for a pee? Quite. Just in case anyone has answered yes to both these questions...How many would wait 24 hrs before seeking medical attention if a 2cm long fish "slipped" up their penis and into their bladder accidentally? Exactly.
Posted by: Sylvia Fadries - 1 year, 3 months agoWhat did the "psychiatric counseling" reveal I wonder?!!!!!!
Definately a "don't try this at home" situation."
Date: Thursday August 21st, 2008, 9:41 pm