A Brazilian boy who was born with two penises has undergone surgery to remove the largest organ. According to doctors, the case occurs 1 in 5 million and is the result of a congenital defect.
Doctors at the Federal University of Sao Paulo were originally planning to remove the two-year-old's right penis, which was smaller. But the plan was interrupted, as his mother said the toddler was urinating only from the youngest.
Examinations showed that the left penis was not functioning properly because his urethra was too narrow and obstructed urine.
Detailing the case in the 'Journal of Pediatric Urology', the surgeons did not explain why this intervention was performed only when he was two years old.
Marcela Leal da Cruz and her colleagues who were part of the case said the defect - known as the diphtheria - was observed only 100 times in history, with the first known case in 1609. Experts estimate that the condition affects about 1 in every 5 up to 6 million boys.
Diphtheria is unclear and there is no known risk factor, but it is thought to occur by chance when the genitals develop in the uterus.
Patients may have either full diphtheria when both penises are well developed, as in the case of the Brazilian boy, or partial diphtheria when one penis is smaller or deformed.
According to MailOnline, a few weeks ago a case was reported of a boy from Uzbekistan, who was born with two fully functional penises. The toddler from the country's capital, Tashkent, lived with this condition for seven years without physical discomfort and was able to excrete urine from both penises.
