(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

An Okanagan man is suing Kelowna General Hospital and his surgeon alleging he was given the wrong operation on his penis and can no longer enjoy sex.

According to an April 11 notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the operation left the man's penis "deformed" and he can no longer hold an erection or have sex without it causing immense pain.

Because of the sensitive nature of the injury, iNFOnews.ca has chosen not to name the man.

According to the court document, the issue started after the man had a mountain biking accident in early 2020.

"This injury caused his penis to bend over to the right slightly, but this caused the Plaintiff no pain whatsoever," the court document says. "The Plaintiff was able to engage in intercourse with his spouse with little or no pain."

The notice of claim says the man went to Kelowna General Hospital and met Dr. Thomas Joseph Kinahan.

Along with Interior Health and the Kelowna General Hospital, the man is also suing Dr. Kinahan.

During the appointment, the man alleges the doctor said he would undergo a left-suspensory ligament attachment surgery to correct the lean to the right of his penis.

The doctor said he'd only ever performed the operation on a dead body and also mentioned he had thrombosis and would need to be able to hear fully before doing surgery, the man claims.

"In the months leading up to the surgery the Plaintiff was able to hold an erection and fully engage in and enjoy sexual intercourse with his spouse without experiencing any pain," the notice of claim says.

A few days before the surgery the man went to the Kelowna hospital to meet with an admittance nurse who told him he was set to have a "division operation."

"The Plaintiff advised the nurse that he was not supposed to undergo a division operation but the nurse advised the Plaintiff to get ahold of his family doctor to get a prescription for an anxiety drug to deal with his anxiety and to get in contact with Dr. Kinahan to discuss the surgery that was going to be performed on him," the court documents say.

The man later called the doctor to clarify what operation he was supposed to have but the doctor never called back.

When he checked in to have the operation a few days later he asked again to see the doctor and was told he'd see him an hour before surgery.

He was then wheeled in and was "extremely embarrassed and ashamed" given the number of nurses in the room which he wasn't expecting.

"Dr. Kinahan then entered the surgery room only minutes before the surgery and the Plaintiff explained to Dr. Kinahan that he was doing the wrong procedure and that all he needed was the suspensory ligament re-attached but Dr. Kinahan was not listening," the court documents say. "The Plaintiff told... Dr. Kinahan that he did not consent to this operation being conducted."

But by then it was too late.

"The Plaintiff started to cry and the next thing he knew he was waking up in the recovery room with his penis bandaged up. He was completely in shock and upset and discovered that... Dr. Kinahan had done a completely different surgery than the Plaintiff had consented to."

The notice of claim says instead of doing a suspension ligament reattachment surgery the doctor did a complete division surgery.

The man had since had to have more surgery to repair the damage that was caused to his penis.

The man alleges he has suffered a permanent physical and psychological injury and continues to suffer pain, discomfort, loss of enjoyment of life, temporary and permanent physical disability, loss of earnings, and loss of housekeeping capacity.

"The Plaintiff continues to suffer from pain, emotional distress and can no longer hold an erection and/or engage in or enjoy intercourse with his spouse without immense pain and discomfort," the court documents say.

"It was the responsibility of the Defendants to treat (the plaintiff) with the degree of care, diligence, judgment and skill which is exercised by a normal, prudent or reasonable physicians, nurses and health authority under like or similar circumstances and with the same experience and training so as not to injure (the Plaintiff)," the court documents say. "The Defendants knew or ought to have known that failure to treat (the plaintiff) appropriately could result in permanent injury."

Interior Health said as the matter was before the courts it couldn't comment on the matter. No one has yet filed a statement of defence.

The man's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

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