Penis amputee says he wanted to flee after news
By BRUCE SCHREINER
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. -- A Kentucky man suing a doctor for amputating his penis testified Monday that he wanted to flee the hospital when he learned part of the organ had been removed.
Former truck driver Phillip Seaton testified during his civil trial against Dr. John Patterson that the doctor came into his room after the 2007 surgery that was supposed to have been a circumcision. Patterson's attorney said during opening arguments that he had no choice but to remove the tip of Seaton's penis because it was riddled with deadly penile cancer.
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Seaton recalled Patterson telling him, "The bad news is you have cancer. The good news is I had to cut some of your penis off."
Seaton said he then went into the restroom.
"I pulled the dressing down, and I didn't see nothing," Seaton said under questioning by his attorney, Kevin George. "Then I came out of the restroom and I said, `I'm getting the hell out of this damn hospital.'"
Seaton, 64, and his wife, Deborah, are seeking unspecified damages for "loss of service, love and affection."
Deborah Seaton covered her face and cried when George asked her husband how he has felt since the surgery.
"It's all been a dream," Phillip Seaton replied. "I ain't woke up yet."
He said he's a "bad case."
"I didn't have no say in it," he testified. "I wasn't told what had to be done. It was just done."
Patterson's attorney, Clay Robinson, said during opening arguments in Shelby County Circuit Court that the doctor discovered deadly penile cancer during the surgery, and that Seaton had initialed a document authorizing treatment in unforeseen circumstances.
George had said during opening statements that the document had been read to him because Seaton cannot read.
Seaton testified that Patterson had told him he would cut foreskin during the circumcision and described it as "more or less in and out." He said he had even joked with the doctor about the procedure.
Robinson said during opening arguments that Patterson was faced with "a dreaded dilemma" during surgery upon discovering the cancer, which he said was invasive and could only be treated by surgical removal. He told jurors his client removed only the tip of Seaton's penis because it was so riddled with cancer it "had the appearance of rotten cauliflower."
"Mr. Seaton is here today, able to be in this courtroom ... because John Patterson saved his life," Robinson said.
Jurors were shown graphic images.
George presented four photographs of Seaton's groin saying, "You can see there's nothing there." He also told jurors that Seaton "doesn't feel like a man" anymore.
Robinson offered up a photograph of the cancerous tip of a penis - not Seaton's.
Seaton's brother, David Seaton, later testified that Phillip Seaton has been depressed and angry since the surgery.
"The spark is gone out of his life. He used to be such a happy person," David Seaton testified.
By BRUCE SCHREINER
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. -- A Kentucky man suing a doctor for amputating his penis testified Monday that he wanted to flee the hospital when he learned part of the organ had been removed.
Former truck driver Phillip Seaton testified during his civil trial against Dr. John Patterson that the doctor came into his room after the 2007 surgery that was supposed to have been a circumcision. Patterson's attorney said during opening arguments that he had no choice but to remove the tip of Seaton's penis because it was riddled with deadly penile cancer.
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Seaton recalled Patterson telling him, "The bad news is you have cancer. The good news is I had to cut some of your penis off."
Seaton said he then went into the restroom.
"I pulled the dressing down, and I didn't see nothing," Seaton said under questioning by his attorney, Kevin George. "Then I came out of the restroom and I said, `I'm getting the hell out of this damn hospital.'"
Seaton, 64, and his wife, Deborah, are seeking unspecified damages for "loss of service, love and affection."
Deborah Seaton covered her face and cried when George asked her husband how he has felt since the surgery.
"It's all been a dream," Phillip Seaton replied. "I ain't woke up yet."
He said he's a "bad case."
"I didn't have no say in it," he testified. "I wasn't told what had to be done. It was just done."
Patterson's attorney, Clay Robinson, said during opening arguments in Shelby County Circuit Court that the doctor discovered deadly penile cancer during the surgery, and that Seaton had initialed a document authorizing treatment in unforeseen circumstances.
George had said during opening statements that the document had been read to him because Seaton cannot read.
Seaton testified that Patterson had told him he would cut foreskin during the circumcision and described it as "more or less in and out." He said he had even joked with the doctor about the procedure.
Robinson said during opening arguments that Patterson was faced with "a dreaded dilemma" during surgery upon discovering the cancer, which he said was invasive and could only be treated by surgical removal. He told jurors his client removed only the tip of Seaton's penis because it was so riddled with cancer it "had the appearance of rotten cauliflower."
"Mr. Seaton is here today, able to be in this courtroom ... because John Patterson saved his life," Robinson said.
Jurors were shown graphic images.
George presented four photographs of Seaton's groin saying, "You can see there's nothing there." He also told jurors that Seaton "doesn't feel like a man" anymore.
Robinson offered up a photograph of the cancerous tip of a penis - not Seaton's.
Seaton's brother, David Seaton, later testified that Phillip Seaton has been depressed and angry since the surgery.
"The spark is gone out of his life. He used to be such a happy person," David Seaton testified.
