1. ¹Department of Urology, Vittorio Emanuele Hospital, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
2. ²Department of Surgery, Urology Unit, S. Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy

Correspondence: Dr G Pomara, Department of Surgery, Urology Unit, S. Chiara Hospital – Pisa, Via Roma, 67, Pisa 56126, Italy. E-mail: g.pomara@libero.it

Received 5 February 2006; Revised 1 March 2006; Accepted 4 March 2006; Published online 6 April 2006.

Abstract

We describe a case of gunshot wound to the corpora cavernosa caused by a low-velocity bullet in a 43-year-old man. He volunteered that his lover's husband shot him with a handgun. The bullet had penetrated the right gluteal region with no exit wound causing a right corpus cavernosum lesion. A penile colour-duplex doppler ultrasonography did not reveal injuries of the cavernosal arteries or altered peak diastolic and systolic values. A three-dimensional computed tomography study corfirmed the presence of the bullet at the root of the right corpus cavernosum and allowed to identify the curvilinear ballistic trajectory, confirming a low-velocity penetrating bullet. The patient underwent exploratory surgery with removal of the bullet and primary repair of the identified unilateral albuginea rupture. The bullet, passing through clothing, probably slowed down causing less than expected harm. The follow-up visit after 2 months showed that the penile girth was not narrowed by such a repair. With a 2-year follow-up the patient has a normal penile ultrasound morphology and a normal sexual activity.