First penile grafting done in the US

Doctors in the US have transplanted a penis to cancer patients
In the US, a penile transplant was performed for the first time. A 64-year-old man whose genitalia was amputated because of cancer received the donor organ of a deceased person. The procedure was only the third of its kind worldwide.

First transplanted penis in the US
In the US, a penis has been transplanted for the first time. A 64-year-old man whose limb was affected by a rare form of cancer received the donor organ of a deceased whose blood type was the same as that of the patient. The 15-hour operation performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston was the first such operation in the US and only the third worldwide. The genitalia of the patient Thomas Manning had to be amputated according to media reports in 2012 because of his cancer. The 64-year-old is doing fine, said the doctors on Monday.

In the US, a penis has been transplanted for the first time. Worldwide, this was only the third such OP. According to the doctors, the patient is fine, soon he should be able to urinate normally again. (Image: Kzenon / fotolia.com)

Doctors prepared for surgery for three years
"We are cautiously optimistic," plastic surgeon Curtis Cetrulo told The New York Times (NYT). However, according to the hospital, it is still too early to determine if the procedure was successful or not. It is said that the genitals are perfused normally, and there is no indication that the organ is being rejected by the body. According to the clinic, the doctors had been preparing for the transplant for over three years.

Patient may soon return to normal urination
According to information from the clinic, the patient could - if there were no complications - urinate normal in a few weeks. Later, the limb is also sexually functional, explained Cetrulo. As the NYT reports, the 64-year-old man was happy about the operation. "I want to be the one I once was," he told the newspaper. He had no relationship due to the amputation a few years ago, but now he hopes to fall in love again.

Man bears a baby with transplanted limb
In China, doctors had already done a penile transplant in 2005. Surgery was a surgical success, but the doctors had to remove the organ from the man after two weeks because of "serious psychological problems for the patient and his wife." The first successful penile transplantation succeeded doctors at the end of 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Surgeon Frank Graewe of Stellenbosch University said: "We have proven that it is possible - we can give someone an organ that is as good as what they had." A few months after the operation, the man was thanked by the Penis transplant dad.

Advances in transplantation medicine
In recent years, transplantation medicine has made tremendous progress. Last year, for example, the first transplantation of a skullcap was successful in the USA. More than two dozen face transplants and more than 70 hand transplants have been performed. Reports of an Italian neurosurgeon, who claims to transplant the head of a terminally ill patient, caused a worldwide sensation. (Ad)