A man is suing for unspecified damages after doctors mistakenly removed his penis during a circumcision procedure. Source: ThinkStock
IT sounds like an urban myth. Unfortunately for Johnny Lee Banks Jnr, it’s the painful truth.
The Alabama resident says his life is in ruins after doctors mistakenly amputated his penis during a routine circumcision.
Mr Banks and his wife Zelda are suing the hospital, doctors and a local clinic for medical malpractice, seeking unspecified damages.
Documents filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court say Mr Banks went to Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham last month for a circumcision but found his penis “gone” when he awoke after surgery.
Another metaphorical representation of a man’s penis being amputated. Source: ThinkStock
The “mistaken amputation” has caused Mr Banks “extreme pain” and made his wife suffer, the documents said.
The lawsuit names the hospital, Urology Centers of Alabama, the Simon-Williamson Clinic and two doctors and alleged Mr Banks “never gave consent for the complete or partial amputation of (his) penis.”
Worryingly, this is not the first time doctors have relieved a patient of his penis without asking.
In 2011, a similar case went to trial in Kentucky after a man’s penis was partially amputated when a doctor found potentially deadly cancer while performing a circumcision surgery.
A jury ruled against the patient, finding that the doctor exercised proper care in performing the partial amputation without consulting the patient.
Originally published as Patient awakes to find penis gone