A man fractured his penis twice in the space of five months because of his medical ailment, doctors say.

The unidentified 41-year-old had Ehler's Danlos syndrome, a genetic disorder which can cause hypermobility.

The man sought treatment for the gruesome injury 10 days after it occurred during sex. Medics said he hoped it would 'heal itself'.

He then confessed to doctors about having needed an operation to repair a penis fracture just months earlier.

Urologists now claim EDS patients 'need to be a little less vigorous in the bedroom and use loads of lube'.

Urologists have told of a 41-year-old patient endured the gruesome injury twice in the space of five months

Doctors who treated him at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, said the association of penile fracture with EDS ‘has never been described’.

Writing in Urology Case Reports, they said: 'Based on this case, we propose men with EDS… may be at a much higher risk of penile fracture.'

The man sought help at Johns Hopkins’ James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute ‘with penile shaft pain and swelling’.

He delayed his visit to the emergency department, hoping for the injury to “heal itself”,’ the team wrote in the case report.

The patient suffered the fracture during sexual intercourse. It is caused when the appendage is subject to a sharp, blunt force.

Writing in the journal, the team of medics led by Dr Arthur Burnett added: 'Ultimately, it is unclear whether the patient sustained his subsequent penile fracture due to erections weakened by the initial injury, or aberrant tissue healing caused by his EDS.'

HOW DOES A PENIS FRACTURE? A penile fracture occurs when the appendage is subject to a sharp, blunt force trauma, which can occur during vigorous intercourse or masturbation. Since 1924, 1,600 cases have been recorded worldwide - roughly 16 instances per year, the Telegraph previously reported. Researchers noted that in 50 per cent of cases, a gruesome cracking sound can be heard. Four in five male victims lost their erection. Those who have already been traumatised from breaking their penis are often left with erectile dysfunction problems and a lifetime of painful sex. MailOnline reported on a man from southern China who was left in agony after breaking his penis during sex with his wife in April. Doctors found that his penis was at an odd angle and was in a swollen shape that made it look like an eggplant. He was diagnosed with a penile fracture after tearing a sponge-like erectile tissue called corpora cavernosa. Blood flows into corpora cavernosa that runs along the penis and making it hard during an erection. The trick to stopping penile injuries is to thrust quite shallowly, according to sex expert Tracey Cox. Holding your partner close to you using a grinding rather than thrusting motion will also reduce the risk, she told MailOnline. Advertisement

He had surgery to repair the fracture and the urologists said his wounds were 'fully healed' at a follow-up appointment.

Since 1924, less than 2,000 cases have been recorded worldwide. A gruesome cracking sound can be heard in around half of the instances.

Those who have already been traumatised from breaking their penis are often left with erectile dysfunction problems and a lifetime of painful sex

EDS – an umbrella term for 13 different genetic conditions – is thought to strike around one in 10,000 people across the world.

Symptoms include hypermobility, stretchy skin or tissue that bruises easily. In some cases, the syndrome can be life-threatening.

Penile fracture is not listed by the NHS as a recognised potential complication of the disorder.

Dr Rich Viney, a urologist based in Birmingham, told MailOnline: 'These are two independently rare conditions so it’s almost impossible to prove a link between the two.

'EDS usually causes weakness in connective tissue, particularly in blood vessels.

'The corpora of the penis are very specialised blood vessels so it is reasonable to presume the walls of the corpora could be weakened by EDS and therefore more prone to fracture.

'Where a recent fracture has occurred a patient is at greater risk so the second fracture in this case may be due to delayed healing from his first fracture five months previous.

'I guess EDS patients need to be a little less vigorous in the bedroom and use loads of lube.'

The case report comes after an Indian father fractured his penis after his child 'fell over' his erection after jumping on him to wake him up.

The bizarre accident was published in the prestigious British Medical Journal Case Reports last year by doctors in India, who revealed the man had taken Viagra.

The 36-year-old, who has not been named, sought help from medics two days after the excruciating injury.

He complained about his 'deformed' penis, which was also swollen and causing him lots of pain.