Penis injections at men's clinic led to damage, say lawsuits

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Michael Forkner, 51, walked into the exam room at the Alabama Men’s Clinic in Birmingham and sat down in front of an employee named Tony. It was 2016, and Forkner had heard the clinic’s advertisements on his favorite sports radio station, ads that promised an easy, discreet solution to his problem. Sometimes he had trouble maintaining an erection during intercourse. He assumed there would be options, pills or something, but that’s not what Tony offered. “At first,” said Forkner, “I said ‘No way am I going to do this. I’m not sticking a needle into my deal.’” Medical experts say a similar scenario plays out in cash-only clinics every day from Cincinnati to Seattle, from Oklahoma City to Minneapolis: Lots of advertising, emphasis on a one-size-fits-all medication to combat erectile dysfunction, and subscription plans costing thousands of dollars a year. Dr. Tobias Kohler, a urologist at the Mayo Clinic, said these impotence clinics sell a powerful tool: TriMix, a drug injected directly into the penis. But sometimes erectile dysfunction is more psychological than physical and can be corrected with lower-risk drugs. “It’s like using a grenade to handle a small problem,” Kohler said.

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