# Kentucky goes to hospital for a circumcision and gets his penis amputated. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366 "2011-08-19T20:08:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/41 "2011-08-20T16:54:17Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Wouldn’t the penis be sent to the pathologist after being removed? If so then the hospital would either have to have to fake a pathology report or send it directly to the incinerator & explain why they didn’t save it to confirm the doctor’s diagnosis. I doubt they just happen to have a bunch of cancerous penises sitting around in the freezer. Nah, they’re all floating around in jars of formalin in the lab cupboard. :eek: Actually it’s been years and years since I saw the last penectomy specimen. Early detection, one hopes. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/42 "2011-08-20T21:06:57Z")
> [@StuffLikeThatThere](#): > > Wait … I may be having an acronym issue. I’m taking “CNA” to mean Certified Nurse Anesthetist. Is that the disconnect? I think it’s CRNA - Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. At least it was at the hospital system where I used to work. CNAs are nursing assistants. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/43 "2011-08-20T21:10:26Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > At least they left his superfluous apostrophe untouched. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > **Eve** , it’s posts like this that make me so happy to have you return.😃 If you liked that… [here’s a similar comment](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14071056&postcount=19). ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/44 "2011-08-20T23:12:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Not anymore. because it would be to much of a pain in the ass ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/45 "2011-08-21T00:26:15Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:33, topic:593366”] I would be shocked (_shocked_ I tell you) if those documents aren’t still on file at the hospital, at least in electronic form. What good is a CYA document if it’s not still there when your A needs C’d? [/QUOTE] You folks may be getting the Power of Attorney form (of which you need just one and the patient typically supplies) confused with the consent for treatment, of which one is required for each surgical procedure. It is the consent that covers the hospital’s A. mmm ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/46 "2011-08-21T02:31:38Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > **Kentucky goes to hospital for a circumcision and get’s his penis amputated.** > > I blame Tennessee. 🙂 > > But seriously: _ **could there be a bit more to this story** _ than that account suggests? Please tell me that was a deliberate attempt at the best pun ever. 😃 Also, how does this man pee now? I’m just curious how that works. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/47 "2011-08-21T08:45:34Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Good point. AFAIK a circumcision – even one to deal with conditions such as phimosis or balanitis – is almost universally ambulatory surgery requiring just a local block ..(snip - hur hur) So now you can _pay_ to be cock blocked? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/48 "2011-08-21T13:21:22Z")
I wonder if they will subpoena anyone during the trial? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/49 "2011-08-21T13:27:06Z")
Good thing they didn’t find brain cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/50 "2011-08-21T13:55:04Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > If you liked that… [here’s a similar comment](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14071056&postcount=19). Awww now, don’t be jealous! ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/51 "2011-08-21T16:00:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah. It’s like when they made me take a pregnancy test prior to _emergency_ surgery for a _potentially life threatening surgery_ with a real possibility of ending up with nerve damage in my face even with the most competent doctor available. I asked “what would you have done if I was pregnant?”. The dweeby little med student/intern/whatever the hell he was started up with “Well, of course we’d wait until after you had the baby to -” > > Like _fuck_ you would, asshole - it’s MY decision here, and I’m NOT waiting eight or nine months to get this taken care of, even if that means sterilizing an icepick at home and going at it on my own. Or yes, risking a miscarriage or having an abortion. Some of this medical stuff is VERY coercive - here, pee in this cup and depending on the results we’ll either operate or just leave you in pain and maybe DIE because you have a fetus inside you. The dweeb seemed VERY surprised I’d “sacrifice” the 'baby" to take care of a _medical emergency_. > > That’s the problem with the consent forms - they’re very broad, and you’re essentially turning medical decisions over to someone who may or may not have a similar outlook and, in any case, doesn’t have to live with the consequences of their actions. Speaking as a dweeby med student, this story makes no sense whatsoever. Pregnancy isn’t a contraindication to surgery, and the reason doctors always want to get a pregnancy test is so we can avoid certain medications or be aware of possible complications which are more likely in a pregnant patient. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/52 "2011-08-21T17:11:11Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Speaking as a dweeby med student, this story makes no sense whatsoever. Pregnancy isn’t a contraindication to surgery, and the reason doctors always want to get a pregnancy test is so we can avoid certain medications or be aware of possible complications which are more likely in a pregnant patient. IMO it’s not having provided this answer, but instead opening right up with “waiting for the baby”, that made **Broomstick** ’s interlocutor a dweeb. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/53 "2011-08-21T17:26:37Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > IMO it’s not having provided this answer, but instead opening right up with “waiting for the baby”, that made **Broomstick** ’s interlocutor a dweeb. To clarify, when I said the story didn’t make sense, I was including the interlocutor’s statement. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/54 "2011-08-21T18:46:10Z")
**Shmendrik** , I’m sure you are aware that not all medical students are created equal, yes? In the cold light of rationality, sitting here years after the incident, I can rationalize that he was young, inept, unskilled (hence, still a student), and perhaps not the most sterling representative of the category “med student”. At the time, however, I had gone from feeling perfectly fine to being told I need emergency surgery in less than 12 hours, the first surgeon had referred me to another because he felt I needed someone with greater skills than he had, I was scared, in a great deal of pain, feeling _very_ sick (throwing up about a half dozen times from either the infection, the pain, or both) and certainly not at MY best. My spouse made sure I didn’t give into the temptation to take a swing at the guy, and then did his best to defuse the situation. Of course, that is one of the problems with the notion of “informed consent” - in the medical world at the point in time one needs to get the patient to sign the patient, even if of sound mind, may be under such stress that he or she is not thinking entirely clearly, or considering all the ramifications. The _proper_ answer, of course, is the one you gave - “we need to know for certain if you’re pregnant or not for medical reasons, including risk of adverse reactions.” The incorrect one is, of course, assuming waiting months for the baby to be born takes priority over all other possible options. When the patient asks of possible consequences if it turned out she was pregnant the correct answer is “there are several options and one would have to be chosen based on the medical situation and your personal feelings about being pregnant”, it’s not “_of course_ we wait for the baby before we do anything”. He pinged my radar as someone who’d automatically assume I would choose my baby over myself and make such a decision for me, without even asking. Maybe that was jumping the gun, but given I was already in a pretty dire situation I didn’t want to take the risk of someone with that mindset being around me (not that I thought it in those exact terms, mostly _I did NOT trust this person_ to have MY best interests in mind) I’m sure we were both happier that way. I don’t know if the guy was just that inept or had religious issues or what - I very promptly stated I never wanted to see him again and I never did during the months-long follow up to the surgery. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/55 "2011-08-22T05:13:23Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Nah, they’re all floating around in jars of formalin in the lab cupboard. :eek: > > Actually it’s been years and years since I saw the last penectomy specimen. Early detection, one hopes. Which leads me to ask - just how many cock lops are done a year? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/56 "2011-08-22T17:39:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > …The dweeb seemed VERY surprised I’d “sacrifice” the 'baby" to take care of a _medical emergency_. > … I remember that from the famous thread, and “Dweeb” is too kind a word. He was parroting some script that was appropriate for **elective** surgery, which yours was not. The most they could have done was changed some approaches / used safer-for-baby meds or whatever. I had a pregnancy test the morning of my gallbladder removal. While I knew there was no chance, they were covering all bases and it was reasonable. The surgery could have been postponed, or they might have done things differently (as mine was not emergent). I have to agree with the opinion that the guy must have signed something saying “treat whatever you find”… and there must have been a real concern. Circumcisions in adults are far from routine matters, even if the procedure is generally a minor one, so if they knew it was needed, and wanted general anesthesia vs. whatever local would be possible\*\*, they must have suspected it was worse than “inflammation”. \*\* and by possible, I include “what the patient would sit still for”… I mean, I’m not a guy, but I suspect it’d be hard to make me sit still if someone was heading THERE with a needle! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/57 "2011-08-22T17:49:25Z")
Sounds more like an axe than a needle. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/58 "2011-08-22T17:57:33Z")
**Kentucky goes to hospital for a circumcision and gets his penis amputated** That’s not a penis, that’s the [New Madrid Bend](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Bend). The “surgeon” being the big ol’ Mississippi River. Who cut it off poor Kentucky during an earthquake in 1812. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/59 "2011-08-22T18:00:10Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > The article says that “Clay Robinson, Patterson’s attorney, has previously said the urologist had permission to perform any medical procedure deemed necessary.” So the plaintiff probably did sign a consent form, he just didn’t realize what it might mean. > > When I had a (benign) ovarian cyst removed, I had a discussion with the doctor about whether I would allow them to remove my ovary if necessary. I was given the option not to consent, in which case if they found cancer, or were unable to remove the cyst, they would have just closed me up and told me I needed a second surgery once I woke up. I decided to go ahead and sign the consent (I thought it made sense to just have the one surgery, and I was comfortable with losing my ovary if necessary), but fortunately they were able to remove just the cyst. It sounds like the difference in your case was that you gave consent for a _specific procedure_, not “any…deemed necessary” by the surgeon present, on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366/60 "2011-08-22T18:01:10Z")
Curious, if they cuts one’s penis off, do they still leave the balls just hangin’ there? That might look just a tad weird, kinda like have two spare tires but no car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kentucky-goes-to-hospital-for-a-circumcision-and-gets-his-penis-amputated/593366.md?page=4)