Man Hospitalized After Self-Administered Superglue Attempt to Stop Incontinence

A 41-year-old man in Iran experienced ongoing urinary incontinence and resorted to inserting superglue into his urethra over a two-week period. Initially the glue seemed to help, but after four days he developed intense burning during urination and then complete urinary retention, a condition that can damage kidneys and cause infections. Emergency physicians found a rigid 10 cm rod of hardened glue blocking the urethral passage.

A cystoscopy was impossible, so surgeons made an incision at the tip of the penis and flushed the area with saline, allowing the glue block to be extracted with forceps. The patient was sutured, regained normal urine flow shortly after the operation, and reported full recovery six weeks later. Medical experts warned that solvents like acetone are unsafe for urethral glue removal, making surgery the appropriate treatment.