A British doctor who requests anonymity writes:
Side effects take many forms. Here is a case report from Cases Journal (2008, 1:45) of a poor man: “Penile and scrotal strangulation caused by a steel ring: A Case Report,” by Ioannis Efthimiou, Savas Kazoulis and Ioannis Christoulakis. I guess one must expect some things if that is one’s predilection (although an angle grinder probably wasn’t part of the fantasy).
However — the most unusual side effect is stated in the abstract: “In this case report we describe a case of a 48 year old male who presented in our hospital with a steel ring on his external genitalia which led to penile strangulation and a short review of the literature.”
If people knew that these rings could lead to a trip to the library or the internet and a need to review the literature I feel sure that they would be far more careful. Some things are simply not worth the risk.