A 37-year-old man experienced a psychotic episode after consuming psilocybin mushrooms, leading to self-inflicted penile amputation with an axe. The penis was partially replanted.

In an unprecedented case report, doctors in Austria have documented the first known instance of psilocybin-induced penile amputation. After consuming a large quantity of magic mushrooms, a 37-year-old man suffering from depression and alcohol abuse severed his penis with an axe. Fortunately, doctors were able to reattach part of the amputated organ. The unique case is detailed in the Mega Journal of Surgery.

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The case report published by doctors at Hospital Feldkirch in Austria outlines the shocking details of a 37-year-old man who consumed a large dose of psilocybin and, during a severe psychotic episode, amputated his penis using an axe. The man, who had a history of depression and alcohol abuse, ingested four or five dried psilocybin mushrooms while staying alone in a secluded vacation home.

Not long after consuming the mushrooms, the man began to experience a terrifying hallucination or delusion, which led him to take an axe and sever his penis into multiple pieces. The details of the event are unclear to the patient, as he did not fully remember what had occurred.

The man reportedly tied a piece of cloth around his genital area to control the bleeding and placed the severed parts of his penis in a jar filled with snow. He then left the house, bleeding profusely, in search of help. A passerby found him in a confused state and called for emergency services. The man was transported to a nearby village and later to a hospital, arriving approximately five hours after the amputation.

Upon arrival, the patient was in a critical condition, having lost a significant amount of blood. He was immediately taken into surgery, where doctors worked to stabilize him and control the bleeding. His penis was contaminated with soil and snow, and parts of the organ were severely damaged. Surgeons were able to save the glans (the tip of the penis) and about two centimeters of the penile shaft, but the other sections were too damaged to be repaired.

Remarkably, the replantation was successful, despite the significant challenges posed by the extent of the injury and contamination. Despite initial difficulties, the patient’s condition improved after the surgery, although he continued to suffer from severe psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and religious delusions. He was placed under psychiatric care, and his treatment included antipsychotic medications to help control the hallucinations. His mental state gradually stabilized, and after a week, he was moved back to the urology department to continue his recovery.

In the weeks following the surgery, the patient experienced some complications. Superficial necrosis (death of skin tissue) developed on the glans of his penis, likely due to the loss of blood flow during the period of ischemia, but this healed over time. Remarkably, the patient was able to regain some erectile function within three months of the surgery, though the overall length of his penis was significantly reduced due to the damage. At his last follow-up visit, he was able to urinate normally while seated, though a minor complication called hypospadias developed, where the urethral opening is located further down the shaft than normal.

While this case is the first documented instance of psilocybin-induced self-amputation, it brings attention to a broader phenomenon of self-mutilation during psychotic episodes, particularly among individuals with underlying mental health conditions. Known as Klingsor syndrome, these rare but extreme events often involve self-inflicted injury to the genitals and can be associated with a range of psychiatric conditions, from schizophrenia to substance-induced psychosis.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝OPMAEnglish
    67·
    3 months ago

    Top marks to the surgical team getting some functionality back in such challenging circumstances.

    • Blazingtransfem98@discuss.online
      1·
      3 months ago

      No but I’ve wanted to real bad from gender dysphoria, didn’t have it in me to get through to do more than a surface level cut before the blood and pain got to me. For not having one myself I am a pussy when it comes to blood and pain ☹️

      • shplane@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        It’s just annoying to see articles like this because it scares people into thinking mushrooms should remain illegal. That’s despite the fact that mushrooms are infinitely less harmful than alcohol and this penis chopping guy is an outlier of outliers

    • stoly@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 months ago

      People care. You’re forgetting that there’s money to made on that. Capitalism!

  • SplashJackson@lemmy.ca
    273·
    3 months ago

    Hey everyone, now we can point to this article and say Magic Mushrooms are soooo dangerous that we need to call everyone that uses them terrorists and organized crime and throw them all in prison for enjoying a natural theraputic vision quest

  • Dasus@lemmy.world
    22·
    3 months ago

    Not to say that psychedelics can’t cause psychotic states. I’m not going to say that, because it’s not true. I’m writing this at the start so no-one gets the wrong idea.

    The syndrome is known, “Klingsor syndrome”. Usually (read: “always”) those self-injury inflicting patients have a long history of mental illness.

    This man had a history of depression and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse and delirium tremens are more likely to induce violent psychotic episodes than mushrooms.

    I mean, granted dude took a heroic dose. I’m not saying the mushrooms had nothing to do with it, obviously they did.

    I’m just saying the title very much reads in a “don’t do shrooms you’ll cut your dick off” kind of way, which is very much not the case here. If any substance had most to do with this, it’s probably alcohol, which is known to cause a lot of mental issues, especially depression and psychosis. As in dudes probably been drinking his whole life, or years at least, which probably had more influence on the person than one (heroic) dose if shrooms.

    • Steak@lemmy.ca
      4·
      3 months ago

      I used to really really struggle with alcohol abuse problems, I’m sober now, I’ve also done shrooms a bunch. In my experience you are definitely right. The drinking would cause crazy delusions and thoughts, it was fucking wild man. Being on a bender for 5 or 6 days. Getting horrible sleep. Eating nothing. Your body revolts against you and everything starts to fail. Your mind doesn’t function properly anymore and time is fucked and you think everyone is against you and come up with these crazy near impossible theories and plans. Sweating and shaking even though youre still drinking you just can’t stomach enough to get the shakes away. I would do crazy things during these times I’m not proud of. Never had any of that with shrooms lol

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
    20·
    3 months ago

    Man, this is why I’ve always been willing to trip sit anyone I care about that wants to try a new-to-them substance. You can’t always tell how someone is going to react to something new. If that something is hallucinogenic, if something does go wrong with the trip, you really want a sober buddy to keep things from going wrong outside the trip.

    Hell, I’ve been known to sit with someone that’s used hallucinogens before, just to be safe, if I can.

    It isn’t just hallucinogens though. I’ve known people that had bad reactions to not just heavier shit, but stuff that’s as mild as weed. Somebody gets hit by the weed fairy wrong, they can get into a panic and end up doing stuff that could hurt them, especially if it’s their first few times trying it.

    Mind you, if it’s something smokable, I won’t be present for the smoking because fuck that shit. But I’ve done it for meth and crack too. Tried my damndest to talk him out of it, and it was only one person with those two. But he was one of those folks that wants to try everything mind altering at least once. I would not likely repeat that for anyone else tbh.

    But damn, folks; if you aren’t already familiar with a substance, find someone you can trust to keep you safe. Even the mildest things out there can cause problems, and you can’t always be sure it’s unadulterated. Accidents happen, allergic reactions can happen, dosing can go wrong. So be safe. Find a buddy.

    • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
      6·
      3 months ago

      I tried mushrooms on my own, but it was at home and it was me taking very small amounts cause I didn’t want to over do it. I liked it. I didn’t let myself get too high but I got to the point where the sound of my music was causing the walls and the lines on the floor to rumble with the sound. I could feel everything moving like the floor was water and my sofa was just floating there. It was nice.

  • wick@lemm.ee
    15·
    3 months ago

    Penile amputations while on mushrooms: 1

    Penile amputations while Austrian: probably more than 1

    I think we know what the real cause was here.

  • HowManyNimons@lemmy.world
    15·
    3 months ago

    This is why they need to fucking legalise it for psychiatric treatment. Otherwise people with depression are just going to medicate themselves and fuck up.

  • Noxy@yiffit.netEnglish
    10·
    3 months ago

    That sucks, and folks should do their research and have trip sitters.

    It’s the first known instance, though - this is not worth changing your behavior over, something that’s never been known to happen after humans have been tripping on the things forever.

  • explodicle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    8·
    3 months ago

    although he continued to suffer from severe psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations and religious delusions.

    I gotta move to Austria

  • voluble@lemmy.ca
    8·
    3 months ago

    From the write-up by the urologist:

    Urologic examination showed an impressive bulging over the penile stump, and after removing the ligating cord, 800 ml of blood and clots discharged from the wound