Penile paraffinoma: Self-injection with mineral oil

An unusual delayed complication of paraffin self-injection for penile girth augmentation

“…Reactions to cod fish oil tend to occur shortly (1–2 weeks) after injection [13], whereas reactions to paraffin or mineral oil tend to occur 1 to 2 years after injection [1]; both usually cause skin scarring leading to paraphimosis and penile deformity, or skin infection leading to purulent discharge, ulceration and even necrosis. Voiding problems have previously been reported only once, in a 64-year-old man with a 9-cm firm irregular penile mass after repeated self-injections on mineral oil [2]. Herein we report the first case, to our knowledge, of penile paraffinoma presenting with acute urinary retention five years after repeated penile self-injection of paraffin for PGA.…”

“…Filling substances used in the non-medical setting include paraffin [1], vaseline [10], mineral oil [2], cod liver oil [13], metallic mercury [3], and petroleum jelly [8]; they all could cause a foreign body reaction leading to penile scarring and deformity, abscess formation, ulceration, erectile dysfunction and even Fournier’s gangrene [1-12]. The foreign body reaction usually involves the penile skin and the dartoic fascia; conversely, involvement of tissues under Buck’s fascia is extremely rare.…”

“…The foreign body reaction usually involves the penile skin and the dartoic fascia; conversely, involvement of tissues under Buck’s fascia is extremely rare. Reviewing the literature we found only one case of corpus cavernosum involvement [15] and one case of urethral involvement [2] leading to voiding difficulties but not urinary retention. Therefore, the present is, to our knowledge, the first reported case of urinary retention following repeated paraffin self-injections for PGA.…”

Petroleum jelly-induced penile paraffinoma with inguinal

“…11 Based on the resulting complications, this practice is very rare in western countries; however, it is still performed in Eastern European and Asian countries. [2][3][4][5][6]8 A wide variety of oils, including paraffin, petroleum jelly, silicone and cod liver oil, have been injected into the penis for augmentation. 5,6 The body lacks the enzymes to break down these oils and consequently foreign body reaction develops.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The disorder affects mainly the site of administration, but regional lymphadenopathy or even systemic disease can occur. 1,7,9 Establishing the diagnosis is challenging if the clinical picture is dominated by regional lymphadenitis.…”