A single mother bit off the penis of her 9-year-old son in a state of delirium on Sunday in Yibin, a city in southwestern Sichuan Province, local media reported.
The boy is not in critical condition after hospital treatment but he would suffer lifetime disability, the doctors told the Southwest Metropolis Daily.
Doctors spent two hours to save his life and his relatives failed to retrieve his penis that was gnawed by his mother.
The third-grader, identified as Liang Liang, was visiting his mother in a Buddhist temple where she was staying to cure her mental disorder. The woman was never married and had the son with a boyfriend. They broke up before Liang Liang was born.
The woman is also hospitalized and doctors said she acted mad and kept talking to herself after Sunday's attack.
"The boy needs long-term therapy to treat his mental trauma, more so than physical injury," a doctor told the newspaper.
When the boy grows up, he will still have sexual needs like a normal man. But the disability will cause him huge pain, the doctor said.
The boy is currently looked after by his relatives.
Contestants perform during a car model final competition in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 6, 2012. The competition kicked off Thursday in Beijing. (Xinhua/Lu Peng)
And the winner is contestant #11 with the short blonde hair!: Number 9 looks too much like my cousin from my dad side of the family (cute but no thanks, it'll be too weird dating her).
And the winner is contestant #11 with the short blonde hair!: Number 9 looks too much like my cousin from my dad side of the family (cute but no thanks, it'll be too weird dating her).
A man raises his legs to avoid water as he rides his bicycle through a flooded underpass in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province December 7, 2012. *******/Chance Chan
Primary school students dress up in Santa costumes as they look up at balloons in the sky while waiting to attend the opening ceremony for their annual school sports event in Nanjing, December 7, 2012. *******/Sean Yong
Ayuko Ito (back) of Japan and Li Jianrou of China compete in the women's 1000m qualification race during the ISU Short Track World Cup speed skating competition in Shanghai December 7, 2012. *******/Carlos Barria
| A worker stands atop a metal frame as he attaches small lights to the branches of trees in front of the National Grand Theatre, nicknamed "The Egg", at sunset in Beijing December 7, 2012. The theatre, which stands next to the Great Hall of the People and Tiananmen Square, has three main halls, including a 2,416-seat opera house, a 2,017-seat concert hall with a pipe organ and a 1,040-seat theatre for plays. *******/David Gray
Workmen put waste material into sacks at a construction site in central Beijing December 7, 2012.
Security personnel stand at the gate of a compound where the wife of jailed 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo lives, in Beijing December 7, 2012. A flustered Mo Yan, the Chinese winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, steered clear of human rights issues and refused on Thursday to back a petition by fellow laureates for jailed compatriot and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. A group of 134 Nobel laureates including the Dalai Lama, wrote to Chinese Communist Party chief and president-in-waiting Xi Jinping urging him to release Liu, who won the prize two years ago. They also want Xi to free Liu's wife. *******/Petar Kujundzic
Locals prepare to swim on bank of a canal in subzero temperatures in central Beijing, December 7, 2012. *******/Petar Kujundzic
A sales assistant (L) holds an iPad mini next to a customer holding an iPad during the China launch of the iPad mini, in Wuhan, Hubei province, December 7, 2012. *******/Stringer
| A beggar bows as he kneels in front of a cup on a pedestrian bridge above a main road in central Beijing December 6, 2012. Picture taken December 6, 2012. *******/David Gray
Apple employees wait for customers outside an Apple Store during the China launch for the iPad mini, in Shanghai, December 7, 2012. REUTER/Aly Song
People holding newly-purchased iPad minis wait outside an Apple Store during the China launch for the product, in Shanghai December 7, 2012. The customers told a Reuters witness that they plan to resell the iPad minis. REUTER/Aly Song
Wang An, 18, is guided by her instructor during a Latin dance class in Shanghai December 8, 2012. Wang An, who was born with Down Syndrome but dreams of being a professional dancer, has been practicing Latin dance for seven years. Wang has gained a silver medal from the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA), which rates her as a medium-level amateur dancer. REUTER/Aly Song
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 08: Shanshan Feng of China holds the Dubai Ladies Masters trophy after the final round of the 2012 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club on December 8, 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Chinese writer and 2012 Nobel Literature Prize winner Mo Yan receives a bunch of flowers after his lecture at Swedish Academy in Stockholm, capital of Sweden on Dec. 7, 2012. (Xinhua/Scanpix)
Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2012 shows the Shanghai Tower (C), a skyscraper under construction, in Pudong, east China's Shanghai Municipality. The Shanghai Tower is expected to reach 632 meters in height and start service in 2015. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)
Rescuers carry a rescued miners to an ambulance at the flooded Furuixiang Coal Mine in Qitaihe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 7, 2012. Four miners who have been trapped in the flooded Furuixiang Coal Mine for more than five days were rescued early Friday morning. Rescuers are still searching for seven others who have been missing after the mine was flooded on Saturday. A total of 22 miners were working underground when the accident occurred. Six miners escaped, with another two escorted out of the mine at noon Sunday. Three miners have been confirmed dead. (Xinhua/Qin Cunguang)
The survived miner Wu Jie's wife Gao Mingyan (L) and daughter burst into tears after Wu was rescued, at Qitaihe Renmin Hospital of Qitaihe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 7, 2012.
An ambulance carries the rescued miners to hospital in Qitaihe, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Dec. 7, 2012.
Photo taken on Dec. 5, 2012 shows a renting spot for public bikes in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province. Upon the end of November this year, there were 491 renting spots for public bikes in Taiyuan. A total of over 11,000 public bikes had been put into use. (Xinhua/Zhan Yan)
A man picks up a public bike in a renting spot in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Dec. 5, 2012.
Contestants compete during the final of a car model contest in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 7, 2012. The final of the national car model contest lasted from Dec. 6 to Dec. 7. (Xinhua/Lu Peng)
Champion Tang Ying (C), the runner-up Wu Jingfen (L) and the third place winner Tian Dongdong attend the award ceromony after the final of a car model contest in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 7, 2012. (Xinhua/Lu Peng)