A case of priapism with ruptured intracranial aneurysm

Abstract

A man of 35 years, who had had three attacks of subarachnoid hemorrhage in the previous 3 years, was admitted to hospital with complaints of headache and priapism. There had been intermittent priapism with abnormal acceleration of sexual desire since the first attack, and erection of the penis had persisted with intolerable pain after the last attack of subarachnoid hemorrhage. A carotid angiogram revealed an aneurysm at the junction of the left internal carotid and posterior communicating arteries. Clipping of the aneurysmal neck was successfully performed. However, priapism continued for 22 days after the operation and resulted in sexual impotence. The neurological problems of priapism are discussed with special reference to a hypothalamic lesion caused by the ruptured intracranial aneurysm in this report.

An uncommon association with sub-arachnoid hemorrhage in a young man

“…Takaku 2 et al. reported a case of stuttering priapism in a man after 3 episodes of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), hypothesizing that the priapism was the result of hypothalamic injury.…”

Penile Priapism, Clitoral Priapism, and Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder: A Contemporary Review

“…Similarly, acute spinal cord injury has been reported in a number of cases as the precipitating factor in ischemic priapism [23]. A case has even been reported of a ruptured intracranial aneurysm causing priapism in a man for 22 days with subsequent development of organic impotence [24].…”

Effect of ischaemic brain injury on sexual function in adult mice

“…Till now there are only a few case reports on brain injury induced priapism in clinic. Takaku et al 10 reported a 35-year-old man had three attacks of subarachnoid haemorrhage in three consecutive years and suffered priapism with intolerable pain after the last attack of subarachnoid haemorrhage. Monga et al 11 reported a 53-year-old man with an old temporal lobe infarction involving the anteromedial basal portion increase in libido and coital frequency with a tendency towards priapism.…”