You've heard of nuts and bolts but what about this combo: a penis and bolt cutter?

Emergency room physician Dr. Leonard Herman had to use that tool to save a man's, uh, tool from possible gangrene.

"The patient had a steel ring around his genitals," Herman said. "If we don't get the ring off, gangrene can set in. Once gangrene sets in, the family jewels are going to go."

The ring was around the unnamed patient's penis for 4.5 hours by the time Herman borrowed bolt cutters from the Norristown, Pennsylvania Fire Department.

Using the bolt cutters was a different matter.

"I was a bit flustered and I felt some time pressure because I already felt this fellow may have already had some tissue loss," he said.

With great care, Herman took the bolt cutters, placed them against the ring encircling the man's sex organ and pressed as hard as he could.

"It didn't even scratch the surface of the ring," he said.