Man sues over penis op

A RETIRED BUILDER suffered symptoms akin to shell shock after most of his penis was removed in a routine operation, a court was told yesterday.

James Bryans, 62, from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, had severe depression and may be still suffering from post-traumatic stress brought on by the operation in November 1993, the Central London County Court was told.

During the previous year, Mr Bryans, who has six children, had reconstructive surgery on his penis after a cancerous growth was removed. He was still able to enjoy a sex life with his 53-year-old wife, Jeannine, the court was told.

But the later operation, by a locum surgeon at Mount Vernon Hospital, north London, which was to help Mr Bryans urinate more easily, removed the reconstructed part of his penis, made sexual relations impossible and was the final factor that tipped him into depression, Professor Malcolm Weller, a psychologist, said.

He said: "I suppose an analogy that might hold is shell shock. If people do not get shell shock after the first battle it has an accumulative effect."

Mr Bryans is seeking at least pounds 60,000 compensation for psychological and physical trauma he claims to have suffered since the operation in November 1993.