Penile fracture? What? That’s possible! Unfortunately yes. But this is not the same thing as fracturing your arm or leg. A boner is not a bone. And this can only occur when the penis is erect. The corpora cavernosa are the cylinders inside the penis that fill with blood and hence cause an erection. This blood is under pressure and enclosed by tissue called the tunica albginea. If the penis is stressed by an aberrant thrust or bad aim, this tunica albuginea tissue can rupture, or fracture. This is often accompanied by a loud popping sound and sudden pain. Soon after one will see swelling and often discoloration like a bruise. Sometimes it is relatively minor and not even noticed very much.
However, in the more dramatic cases associated with pain and swelling surgical repair will increase the odds of proper healing. Even with timely surgery, in less than 3 days after the event, perfect healing is not guaranteed, but chances are better. Otherwise this can lead to a condition called Peyronie’s Disease. This is a chronic scar that can affect erections and also cause a curvature with erection. It is often difficult to treat although a relatively new medication called Xiaflex is showing a lot of promise. If you have the symptoms listed, please see a urologist such as Dr. Newman of Las Vegas Urology in a timely manner so you can get proper treatment as quickly as possible.