Surgeons complete first successful penis transplant
A 21-year-old man from South Africa has received the world’s first successful penis transplant, thanks to doctors from Stellenbosch University who carried out the operation…
A young man needed a new penis as the result of a botched circumcision. (Shutterstock)
A 21-year-old man from South Africa has received the world’s first successful penis transplant, thanks to doctors from Stellenbosch University who carried out the operation at Tygerberg hospital in Cape Town.
According to reports, the young man’s new penis is functioning as a normal body part since the operation, all thanks to a nine-hour surgical procedure that involved the finite stitching of vessels and nerves needed to produce sensation and use.
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The patient, who remains anonymous, is also doing well psychologically, indicating to his doctor team he has no issues with a body part that once belonged to someone else.
“The patient accepted the penis as his own, Professor Andre van der Merwe, head of the urology division at Stellenbosch University, told eNews Channel Africa (eNCA). He told me in no uncertain terms that the fact it belonged to somebody else is completely out of his mind and hes moved on with this as his own penis. Thats absolutely the way we want it.
The psychological aspect of the operation was just as important to its success and the physical part. In 2006, a Chinese man had a penis transplant but requested the organ be removed two weeks later because of mental barriers he and his wife had encountered. These psychological issues are not unique to sexual organ transplants; WebMD indicates any organ recipient must face personal issues like guilt, embarrassment, fear of the future (will the transplant remain viable), disappointment, and frustration. These feelings can be compounded if family members or close friends have their own reservations about organ transplant.
As expected, sexual organs are one of the most difficult transplants to deal with mentally for both the patient and that patient’s partner.
The penis is complicated to attach and required a 9-hour surgery to complete. (Shutterstock)
“Huge psychological effects. If you add an organ you make a ripple effect on somebodys ego, you can even induce psychosis He was obviously carefully screened to be psychologically stable before we did this,” said Van der Merwe.
Psychological barriers aside, the physical aspect of the surgery appears to be a huge success and has remained so in the months following. “We repaired a small hole in his urethra, the pee pipe, last week so we could remove his catheter and just that induced an erection on the operating table,” Van der Merwe explained. “We were very thankful that it all worked out in the end and the patients doing well The patient is sexually active again and is very happy. We were so surprised at that erection that he certainly is getting very good results for his transplant.
The patient originally had his penis amputated several years before the transplant as a result of a botched tribal circumcision. Such practices are still common throughout much of Africa, and the ability to offer penis transplant to those in need is seen as a huge accomplishment for the South African medical team.
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“South Africa remains at the forefront of medical progress,” Proffessor Jimmy Volmink, Dean of SU’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), said in a statement.
“This procedure is another excellent example of how medical research, technical know-how and patient-centered care can be combined in the quest to relieve human suffering. It shows what can be achieved through effective partnerships between academic institutions and government health services.”
