An unusual cause of paraphimosis: hemangioma of the glans penis

Paraphimosis is a urologic emergency that occurs in uncircumcised boys. In untreated paraphimosis, increasing edema caused by vascular and lymphatic obstruction results in ominous sequelae such as penile gangrene, which leads to autoamputation in days or weeks. Most cases of paraphimosis are iatrogenic, but that condition has unusual causes as well. We present a very rare case of paraphimosis that occurred in a patient with a hemangioma of the glans penis. We suggest that the swelling of the hemangioma pushed the penile skin backward and caused paraphimosis. To our knowledge, such a presentation has not been previously reported in the English literature. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.