A single mother bit off the penis of her 9-year-old son in a state of delirium on Sunday in Yibin, a city in southwestern Sichuan Province, local media reported.

The boy whose penis was gnawed by his mother is receiving treatment in hospital.

The boy is not in critical condition after hospital treatment but he would suffer lifetime disability, the doctors told the Southwest Metropolis Daily.

Doctors spent two hours to save his life and his relatives failed to retrieve his penis that was gnawed by his mother.

The third-grader, identified as Liang Liang, was visiting his mother in a Buddhist temple where she was staying to cure her mental disorder. The woman was never married and had the son with a boyfriend. They broke up before Liang Liang was born.

The woman is also hospitalized and doctors said she acted mad and kept talking to herself after Sunday's attack.

"The boy needs long-term therapy to treat his mental trauma, more so than physical injury," a doctor told the newspaper.

When the boy grows up, he will still have sexual needs like a normal man. But the disability will cause him huge pain, the doctor said.

The boy is currently looked after by his relatives.