SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
World's first penis, scrotum transplant done in US
Washington, April 23 (AFP) Apr 23, 2018
Doctors at Johns Hopkins University said Monday they have performed the world's first total penis and scrotum transplant on a US military serviceman who was wounded in Afghanistan.

The 14-hour operation took place on March 26, and was performed by a team of nine plastic surgeons and two urology surgeons, JHU said in a statement.

"We are hopeful that this transplant will help restore near-normal urinary and sexual functions for this young man," said W.P. Andrew Lee, professor and director of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The entire penis, scrotum without testicles and partial abdominal wall came from a deceased donor.

The recipient has requested anonymity, but released a brief statement saying he is expected to be released from the hospital next week.

"It's a real mind-boggling injury to suffer; it is not an easy one to accept," he said.

"When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal."

The statement did not describe how the patient was injured, but said blasts from improvised explosive devices can cause such injuries.

Doctors have previously succeeded at transplanting penises only, so adding the scrotum represented an additional advance for surgeons.

The first penis transplant in the world took place in China in 2006, but it was later removed due to "a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife," doctors said.

The world's first successful penis transplant was announced in 2015 in South Africa. The United States followed in 2016.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
Sun boundary map tracks shifting Alfven surface over solar cycle
Mission Space to fly second space weather payload with Rogue Space

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Molecular contacts push tandem solar cells to 31.4 percent efficiency
Asymmetric side chain design boosts thick film organic solar cell efficiency
New analysis links lead cooled reactor corrosion to steel microstructure

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.