BUCHAREST, July 4, 2008 (AFP) - A Romanian court on Friday ordered a surgeon who severed a man's penis during an operation to pay his victim 500,000 euros (785,000 dollars) in compensation.

Urologist and anatomy professor, Naum Ciomu, 62, 'highly respected' by his colleagues, had been carrying out an operation on the man's testicles, but accidentally severed the penis during the surgical intervention.

The incident occurred in 2004. The victim, now 38, has undergone a number of operations since then to reconstruct his penis, but doctors have not been able to restore erectile function.

The man's wife has since left him and the man had demanded 800,000 euros in compensation.

The surgeon may still appeal the ruling.