‘Can I Break My Leather Cigar?’ — Ask Dr. Harry Fisch

I've heard rumors, stories and urban legends but is it possible to break your penis? -- Tom, St. Louis, Missouri

Yes…you can break your boner, but it’s not the same as breaking a real bone.

Your penis contains no bones (unlike some animals, which do have penis bones) but the outer layer of the penis, just under the skin, contains ligament-like tissue that helps keep an erection stiff.

If you bend an erect penis hard enough, you may hear a cracking or popping sound, usually accompanied by shooting pain. Later the penis, even when not erect, may swell and look bruised. The pain and swelling will go away in a few days, but you may have some lingering problems.

The scar tissue that can form after a penile fracture can cause Peyronie’s Disease, which is where an erect penis curves, or kinks in one direction or another.  Mild cases don’t usually cause a problem, but in severe cases the kink can prevent you from having normal intercourse.