'Professionals' run off leaving man bleeding.

[BossTamsin (imported)]

Police seek 'professionals' who removed St. Paul man's testicles (http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1347914.html)

A bizarre medical request and a botched surgery lead police on a search to find the missing suspected quacks.

By Allie Shah (ashah@startribune.com), Star Tribune

Last update: August 07, 2007 – 1:10 AM

It doesn't get much stranger than this.

A St. Paul man, complaining of chronic pain, wanted to have his testicles removed. When conventional medical staff refused to do the job, he hired other "professionals" to take off his testicles, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court.

Two or three people operated on the man, Russell Daniel Angus, 62, a couple weeks ago at his home in St. Paul. He was unconscious during the surgery, and when he woke up, his testicles had been removed.

And the "professionals" were gone.

His groin area was bleeding heavily, so he called his daughter. She called for help. When police arrived, they found a makeshift operating room set up in the upper level of the house. There were bright lights, an apparent operating table, medical supplies and equipment, and a camera. Angus was still bleeding, and there was blood in the living room, hall and bathroom, the affidavit said. He was taken to Regions Hospital.

Since then, St. Paul police have been looking for the people behind the surgery, suspecting that it was an illegal medical procedure. Only those licensed to practice medicine in Minnesota may perform a medical procedure here. Angus wouldn't say who the mysterious practitioners were, telling police that he didn't want to get them into trouble.

His wife, Anna Marie Angus, told police that her husband spends a lot of time on the Internet and uses a computer kept in a lower-level bedroom. She said he uses that room because he has limited mobility. The daughter told police that she didn't want them to search her father's house, the affidavit says.

Police searched the home in the 600 block of York Avenue on July 28, looking for a list of items including blood, medical instruments, fingerprints, documents discussing medical procedures, computers, and testicles. Court documents show they seized three specimen jars, medical supplies, a camera, a computer CPU, and other items.

"Based on my knowledge and experience, I know that it is not common or usual for a licensed medical practitioner to perform surgery in the non-sterile environment of a private home," wrote Sgt. Richard Munoz, in court documents. "I also know that it would be highly unusual, unprofessional and likely negligent for a licensed medical practitioner to perform surgery and then leave a patient before the patient recovered from anesthesia and/or fail to provide immediate follow-up care."

St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said he has seen a lot in his years on the force, but this case is remarkable. "I have never in my life seen anything quite like that."

[ramses (imported)]

Aug 7, 5:10 PM EDT

Testicle surgery mystifies police

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- When conventional medical professionals refused to remove a 62-year-old local man's testicles, police said he turned to mysterious "professionals" to relieve what he called chronic pain.

Now police want to find the fly-by-night surgeons.

"I have never in my life seen anything quite like that," said St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed Monday,

the man complained of chronic pain and turned to conventional medical personnel to remove his testicles.

When they refused, the 62-year-old man said

he hired other "professionals" to

do the surgery. He would not tell officers who they were, saying

he didn't want to get them into trouble.

Police said a couple of weeks ago, t

wo or three people operated on the man

in his home. He was unconscious. W

hen he woke up, his testicles

were gone. So were his "professionals."

His groin area was bleeding heavily, so he called his daughter. She called for help.

Police found an improvised operating room in the man's house, with

bright lights, an apparent operating table,

a camera and various medical supplies and equipment. There was also blood in several rooms of the house.

---

Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com

[DeaconBlues (imported)]

I really hate to see news items like this, don't get me wrong, I am happy to see that another man was able to get elective castration. But when news like this gets out, it causes all the self righteous prudes out there to get into a huff and call all of us "perverts" and they will be on rants about some "unlicensed butcher" performing illegal botched castrations and all that.

[kristoff]

I really hate to see news items like this, don't get me wrong, I am happy to see that another man was able to get elective castration. But when news like this gets out, it causes all the self righteous prudes out there to get into a huff and call all of us "perverts" and they will be on rants about some "unlicensed butcher" performing illegal botched castrations and all that.

And in the end, most of it will blow over, and life will continue. Maybe, doubtfully, someone in the medical or other communities might learn something from this.

[DeaconBlues (imported)]

I hope you are right kristoff. I hope it all blows over quickly.

I really wish skilled, professional "cutters" could practice their trade without any meddling from the legal or medical communities. The way I see it, it is completely a personal choice of a man or eunuch to keep or lose his testicles, and he shoud not have to justify his choice to a shrink or anyone else. In this particular case, even though the man (now eunuch) had reason to denounce the "professionals" who left him unconcious and bleeding , he chose NOT to name them because he did not want them to get into any trouble. I think if anything this proves a lesson in allowing people to make their own choices for themselves, if his regular doctor would have done this he could have been castrated in a safe and clean environment.

[kristoff]

I hope you are right kristoff. I hope it all blows over quickly.

I really wish skilled, professional "cutters" could practice their trade without any meddling from the legal or medical communities. The way I see it, it is completely a personal choice of a man or eunuch to keep or lose his testicles, and he shoud not have to justify his choice to a shrink or anyone else. In this particular case, even though the man (now eunuch) had reason to denounce the "professionals" who left him unconcious and bleeding , he chose NOT to name them because he did not want them to get into any trouble. I think if anything this proves a lesson in allowing people to make their own choices for themselves, if his regular doctor would have done this he could have been castrated in a safe and clean environment.

There is undoubtedly much more not known or stated than is in the stories - there usually is in these cases......... These stories were written and published solely for their sensationalistic value.

[ramses (imported)]

It seems there is a story like this about once a year or so and the press will do nothing to shield your identity if you do something like this.

But it does make me woder, how many of these cuttings go right for each one that goes wrong? Due to the nature of the subject matter, we will probably never know.

[mrt (imported)]

I really hate to see news items like this, don't get me wrong, I am happy to see that another man was able to get elective castration. But when news like this gets out, it causes all the self righteous prudes out there to get into a huff and call all of us "perverts" and they will be on rants about some "unlicensed butcher" performing illegal botched castrations and all that.

I'm sorry but I disagree. These "professionals" could have killed this man. They walked away from a bleeding man who was knocked out? I think this is insane and criminal. One can only hope THEY get the same treatment when they need surgery. X-Acto style...

I agree with the Red Sister that this should be a call for surgeons to be a little less weirded out by this surgery. They say he suffered from Orchialgia. A problem that I share. I assure you there ARE surgeons who accept Orchiectomy as an option but.... Few to none will do so without the patient looking into non surgical options? First do no harm. This is a good thing (In my opinion) I don't think they should be doing Orchis on crazy people or ones that can be easily cured some other way.

[Robby (imported)]

Back-alley castration botched; victim mum (http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_ ... ck_check=1)

St. Paul man, 62, refuses to help cops with investigation

BY JEREMY OLSON

Pioneer Press

TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Article Last Updated:08/08/2007 09:23:31 AM CDT

A St. Paul man is refusing to tell authorities who performed a botched castration on him in late July at his home and left him bleeding in a makeshift operating room.

City police instead are using forensic leads such as fingerprints and computer records to track down the unlicensed "professionals" in this case, which while unusual is not unprecedented.

A few high-profile arrests have occurred in the past decade of people who performed unlicensed castration procedures on themselves and others, particularly on people who are transgender.

"It is oftentimes a very desperate move by people who don't feel that they can find access to appropriate medical treatment and care," said Eli Coleman, director of the University of Minnesota's Program in Human Sexuality.

So far, police have no evidence that sexuality or gender issues were involved in the decision by 62-year-old Russell Angus to have his testicles removed. He apparently had complained of severe pain in his groin, but police said he had been unable to find licensed doctors who would perform the procedure.

So he hired two or three people to operate on him July 28 in his East Side home

. He was unconscious during the

procedure but awoke alone to find his testicles were removed and his groin was bleeding. Angus was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul for treatment after he called his daughter for help.

The botched procedure is the latest in a shocking line of events in Angus' life. One son, Brett Angus, was a Marine killed in Iraq in 2005, and another, Daniel Angus was convicted in the drive-by shooting of 17-year-old Tony Basta in 2000. His second wife, their baby and three stepchildren died in a 1976 house fire from which he escaped.

Angus did not respond to a message. His daughter declined comment.

On July 28, paramedics and police found Angus upstairs in his home, according to court documents. There were bright lights, an operating table, medical supplies and a camera. Neither Angus nor his wife, Anna, would provide information about the people who performed the procedure. Angus' daughter asked police not to search the house.

After obtaining a search warrant, police seized medical supplies, trash, books, videos and other items. They also seized Angus' computer with the assumption he used the Internet to research or find people willing to perform the procedure, according to court documents.

No arrests have been made, police spokesman Tom Walsh said Tuesday, and Angus still won't identify who did the procedure.

Testicles produce testosterone, a hormone responsible for male sexual characteristics and muscular development.

Castration procedures, also known as orchiectomies, mostly are reserved for men with testicular cancer or other life-threatening conditions. However, a British documentary last year found many men wanting to become eunuchs and followed one man whose surgery was performed by a licensed physician in Philadelphia.

In March, three North Carolina men were convicted of castrating six men who voluntarily sought the procedure in what authorities described as a basement dungeon.

The three initially argued the castrations were consensual, but they later pleaded guilty in a plea agreement.

Other illegal castration cases have caused criminal investigations. A Pittsburgh man was charged in 2003, for example, with aggravated assault when he attempted a home castration on a transgender individual and admitted to 23 other unlicensed procedures. That same year, a Detroit-area man admitted to 50 such procedures after his botched castration sent a patient to the hospital.

The university's Coleman said such cases are unfortunate because the medical community is becoming more attuned to the needs of people who are transgendered and more sophisticated at determining who is appropriate for surgery.

He drew a line, however, between people who are seeking the surgery out of gender and sexuality issues, and people with disturbing obsessions or morbid cravings to have their bodies mutilated or amputated.

The latter often report pains and other problems to trick physicians into unnecessary procedures, Coleman said. Some people try to mutilate or castrate themselves, then show up in emergency rooms, he added.

"There needs to be an evaluation to understand what the motivation is about" before a procedure can take place, Coleman said. "It's not just having access to people who will alter people's bodies on demand. ... There needs to be a team of psychologists and surgeons who can work together to manage these situations."

Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com (jolson@pioneerpress.com) or 651-228-5583.

[SplitDik (imported)]

First of all, was this someone from the Archive?

Secondly, for those people who continue (to have to) seek back alley castrations, plan to go to the hospital afterwards and even have the cutter (or better yet a trusted friend) drop you off there. If police and ambulance are not involved, then your anonymity will be preserved (stuff that gets on the news is due to ambulance-chasing news reporters). So get the amateur castration if you must, but arrange to have someone drop you off at emergency shortly thereafter. You'll then get the best of both worlds -- castration fulfilled with professional involvement to ensure your life is safe(r).