A 52-year-old man who had problems with an erection inserted a steel rod into his penis and almost died in Hengyang, China.

Kang Niu tried to improve his sex life by sticking a 13-centimetre long steel rod down his penis and almost died when it shot into his bladder during intercourse. The man was immediately rushed to a hospital where he told medics that such an idea came to his mind as he was struggling to find a girlfriend.

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The man believed that a "steel reinforcement" with the help of a metal rod would give him a prolonged sexual experience. But the first time he tried it, the rod shot backwards inside him and stabbed his bladder.

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Despite being in agony, he reportedly said nothing for months, hoping that he would eventually be able to pass the rod back out again. Eventually as the pain increased he turned up at the hospital where doctors carried out an x-ray and discovered the cause of the pain.

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They said it was a relatively simple operation to remove the steel rod from inside the man, but they did not say whether it had caused any long-term damage to his internal organs.