Sparks fly as penis ring cut off with angle grinder

Sparks flew at the emergency department at the Mater University Hospital in Dublin as fire brigade personnel were called in to use an electric angle grinder to remove a metal ring from a man’s penis.

A unit of Dublin Fire Brigade was called after medics tried unsuccessfully to remove the ring from the man’s sore and swollen genitalia. The medics had failed to remove the ring with orthopaedic instruments, including a saw, and bolt and bone cutters, which failed to grasp or even indent the ring, due to its durability and size.

The man had presented with what the medics in the March edition of the Irish Medical Journal (IMJ) described as a rare case of ‘penis strangulation’ which requires urgent intervention to avoid potential organ-threatening complications and to resolve blood flow issues.