A Kenyan man has undergone life-saving surgery to reduce the size of his three-foot penis and 11lbs testicles that had grown so large it was hard for him to walk or wear normal clothes.
20-year-old Horace Owiti Opiyo, known as Forence to friends, had genitals that were twenty times the average size after a growth continued to get larger despite surgery to remove it. The growth first started in 2006 like a boil, then it grew to the size of a fist and just continued swelling even as Forence tried herbal remedies to make it go down because he was unable to afford an operation.
In 2006, he dropped out of school when students began making fun of him because of his condition. In 2007, Forence, who is an orphan, had surgery but the growth came back and his penis grew to almost a metre long, weighing 5kgs. He was later diagnosed with scrotal elephantiasis. This can be caused by a mosquito bite injecting larvae into the bloodstream, which then grow into parasitic worms blocking the body's drainage system and causing swelling.
In 2006, he dropped out of school when students began making fun of him because of his condition. In 2007, Forence, who is an orphan, had surgery but the growth came back and his penis grew to almost a metre long, weighing 5kgs. He was later diagnosed with scrotal elephantiasis. This can be caused by a mosquito bite injecting larvae into the bloodstream, which then grow into parasitic worms blocking the body's drainage system and causing swelling.
The condition left Forence, who is from Kibigori, Kenya, in extreme agony and prevented him from living a normal life. As the pain got worse, a concerned neighbor took a photo of his swollen parts and sent shared on social media and that was when help came.Speaking about the first time he noticed the cyst, Forence said: "This thing started very small, like a boil. Then it was the size of my fist. It just continued to grow bigger and bigger."
After Forence dropped out of school because of the condition he spent more time at home with his brother Eliza and elderly grandmother, Salina. His parents died when he was five.
Forence said: "I told my grandmother that I have been infected by a disease, but I’m not sure what it is. It could be a curse. I knew this was not God’s work, but the devil’s."In an attempt to help, his neighbour, Duncan Otieno, took photographs and put the story on Facebook. The post went viral overnight and reached the Kisumu county Governor’s wife, Olivia Ranguma, who asked a doctor to assess Forence’s condition and an ambulance was sent for him straight away.
Doctors at Jaramogioginga Odinga Hospital examined Forence and diagnosed him with Scrotal elephantiasis. Forence had two operations to reduce the size of his scrotum and reconstruct his penis so that it is usable. Fortunately, the operation was a success and has changed the 20-year-old's life.
He now hopes to start a family one day after being told he has functioning testicles.
He now hopes to start a family one day after being told he has functioning testicles.
He said: "When I got up I was surprised that my body was so light. All the heaviness had gone. I’m swimming now. I couldn’t go anywhere near the water because of the heaviness of that thing. Now I can run and I can play football. Now I’m free!"He added: "I’m trying as much as possible to build myself up so that I can have a wife. But the next step I want to take is to get an education. Who knows what will happen in the future?"
Below is a video of Forence before and after the surgery.
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