A British man who lost most of his penis to a flesh-eating superbug after routine surgery is taking legal action against the hospital.
Cancer patient Andrew Lane, 61, contracted the potentially fatal infection necrotising fasciitis following an operation to remove his prostate gland at Southend Hospital in Essex.
He was left fighting for his life and, although he survived, his genitals were so badly damaged that he lost most of his penis and is no longer able to have sex.
So much diseased tissue had to be removed that it also left him with a protruding stomach, where the outer tissue had been "eaten" away.
Mr Lane, from Thurrock, Essex, spent eight weeks in hospital following the incident in March 2013 and said he has only recently started to come to terms with his injuries.
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He is now taking legal action against Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust over claims that his bowel was punctured during the original operation, but this was not detected for days afterwards, which led to the infection.
"I lost from my belly button to just above the groin and I've not got much left of a penis," he said.
"I was super-fit before all this. I had a good body, but now I look like I'm nine months pregnant. I can't ever bear to look at myself naked.
"The most difficult bit is not being able to have sex with my wife anymore.
"We're a normal couple who enjoyed it as part of a healthy relationship and I do miss that."
A spokesman for Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it was aware of the legal case but could not comment as it was an "ongoing matter".
