Koro in an Anglo-Saxon Canadian

Abstract

This is a case of a 21-year-old Canadian male schizophrenic who developed a Koro syndrome following the surgical removal of a coccygeal cyst. It is felt that the clinical manifestation of the Koro sydrome as observed in South East Asia and in the West are not identical. In the West, the conviction of a fatal outcome must be very rare, while it is usually present among the South East Asians. This difference may reflect cultural influences. Furthermore, although the depersonalization syndrome of genital shrinkage may occur in any psycho-pathological condition, it was observed that the typical Koro syndrome as described among South East Asians is more often associated with a neurosis (anxiety neurosis, hysterical neurosis), while the atypical Koro syndrome as described in the West is more often associated with a psychosis (functional psychosis, organic psychosis) or a state of intoxication (drugs, alcohol).