A Massachusetts man has received the first penis transplant in the US.
Thomas Manning, who survived potentially fatal penile cancer, received the organ from a deceased donor last week.
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston confirmed it carried out the 15-hour procedure, connecting the complex nerve and vascular structures of the donor penis.
Dr Curtis Cetrulo, who helped lead the surgical team, told the New York Times that normal urination should be possible for 64-year-old Mr Manning in a few weeks.
Sexual function should be possible in weeks to months, said Dr Cetrulo.
Mr Manning, a bank courier, had most of his penis removed - in an operation called a partial penectomy - during his battle with cancer, the Times reports.
His illness was discovered in 2012 after he was badly injured in a work accident.
He told the newspaper that after the penectomy he was left with a stump about an inch long and had to sit down to urinate.
The Halifax man said he hopes to go back to work and eventually find love.
"If I'm lucky, I get 75% of what I used to be," he said. "Before the surgery I was 10%."
The world's first successful penis transplant was performed in South Africa in December 2014.
The University of Stellenbosch carried out the operation on a 21-year-old man who had had his penis amputated after a botched circumcision.
A man in China received the world's first penis transplant in 2005 at Guangzhou General Hospital.
It appeared to be a surgical success, but doctors said the patient asked them to remove his new organ two weeks later because of "a severe psychological problem" experienced by him and his wife.
No comments:
Post a Comment