Man receives first US penis transplant after cancer
Washington - A Boston hospital carried out the first-ever penis transplant in the United States this month on a 64-year-old man who had suffered partial amputation due to cancer.
Thomas Manning, 64, of Halifax, Massachusetts, underwent the transplant in a 15-hour operation, Massachusetts General Hospital announced Monday. Doctors said they were cautiously optimistic that he would regain function.
The hospital said he "continues to recover well, with blood flow established to the donor organ and no signs of bleeding, rejection or infection" after what surgeons call a genitourinary vascularized composite allograft.
The procedure require surgically grafting "complex microscopicvascular and neural structures of a donor organ" onto the patient's comparable anatomy, the hospital said.
The first penis transplant was reportedly attempted in 2005 in China,but the recipient later had the organ removed. A successful surgery was reported in late 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa, where the patient was since able to father a child.
In a statement, Manning said his life changed forever when he suffered a debilitating work accident, followed by a cancer diagnosis.
Having undergone the surgery, he was beginning "a new chapter filled with personal hope and hope for others who have suffered genital injuries." Manning specifically noted US military personnel who suffer such injuries in service.
He thanked his mother for helping him through the process, as well the hospital's medical team and the family of the organ donor, "whose wonderful gift has truly given me the second chance I never thought possible."
Drs Curtis Cetrulo Jr and Dicken Ko led the surgical team, which planned for nearly four years for the operation.
"We are hopeful that these reconstructive techniques will allow us to alleviate the suffering and despair of those who have experienced devastating genitourinary injuries and are often so despondent they consider taking their own lives," Cetrulo said.
He led a medical team that conducted a hand transplant in 2012. Doctors at Massachusetts General hope to eventually perform such transplants without anti-rejection drugs, which can have serious side effects.
Ko called the surgery a "proof-of-principle" case that will help establish techniques for future procedures.
- DPA
