Eds: APNewsNow.

(Stations: note nature of following)


BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) A court in Bucharest has ordered a Romanian surgeon to pay $795,000 in compensation to a patient whose penis he accidentally severed during an operation.

In July 2004, the doctor made a surgical error while operating on the man's testicles, severing the penis instead of making an incision to the testicle.

The Bucharest Magistrates Court ruled today that the physician had been "superficial" in his approach to the operation. It ordered the fine and handed down a one-year suspended prison sentence. The ruling can be appealed.

A piece of muscle from the man's arm has now been attached to where his penis was, but its function is aesthetic.

The man's lawyer says: "You don't have to be an expert to realize that the 33-year-old victim does not have a good state of mind."


(Stations: note nature of the above)


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 07-04-08 0637CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list