Man Sues Doctor After Surgery Leaves Him With 8-Month Erection

A truck driver from Delaware is suing the doctor that gave him a penile implant four years ago because the surgery allegedly left the driver with an erection that lasted for eight straight months.

Daniel Metzgar's 2009 surgery involved a three-piece inflatable penile implant, with cylinders placed inside the penis' shaft, a fluid reservoir implanted under the abdominal wall, and a pump put in the scrotum. But something went wrong and Metzgar was left with a permanent boner.

Or, as Metzgar's attorney, Michael Heyden, put it: “Dan is stuck in this position.” That position, according to Heyden, made it difficult for Metzgar to complete a number of everyday tasks, including but not limited to: getting the paper in the morning, riding his motorcycle, and attending regular family events, which made the constantly erect Metzgar feel uncomfortable.

“I could hardly dance, with an erection poking my partner,” Metzgar told jurors Monday when he took the witness stand. The procedure caused him to retreat from much of life, even wearing long baggy sweat pants and a long shirt to hide his situation.
“It’s not something you want to bring out at parties and show to friends,” said Metzgar.

Dr. Thomas J. Desperito, the urologist who performed the surgery, denies responsibility, saying that bad results are not always the fault of one procedure or doctor. Deperito's attorneys also said Metzgar should have realized something was wrong when his scrotum swelled to the size of a volleyball.

Metzger finally had the device removed in 2010, after its tubing punctured his scrotum while he was on a family trip to Niagara Falls.

Metzgar eventually got a replacement prosthesis, but he claims scarring from the first surgery has left him “50 percent smaller” with less sensation. The lawsuit is still ongoing in New Castle County Superior Court.