Penile paraffinoma and ulcers of penis

The authors describe a case of 33 year old Caucasian married man with an irregular 6 cm penile mass associated with multiple penile ulcers. He reluctantly admitted that 10 years ago he had multiple mineral oil (Vaseline) self injections into the penis, for penile enlargement purposes. The patient had a surgical intervention 10 years ago, but he has recurrent ulcers on his penis. We have administered an intravenous antibiotic therapy combined with local therapy. The term paraffinoma describes a distinct histopathological finding that results from the injection of foreign oily substances into the skin. Although such procedure may be considered rare, they are still performed in some countries. The major point we want emphasis is following: a lot of people seek penile augmentations, it is necessary to remind physicians and the public that nonscientific and inadequate procedure such as Vaseline may lead to debilitating and destructive consequences (Tab. 1, Ref. 12).