Worlds First Total Penile and Scrotum Transplant

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US doctors have announced that they have performed the world's first penis and scrotum transplant on a soldier with a serious injury. But the testicles, containing the germ cells, have not been grafted for ethical reasons.

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The transplant is an American soldier seriously injured several years ago in the explosion of an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, said doctors at Johns Hopkins University. On March 26, nine cosmetic surgeons and two urologist surgeons operated on it for 14 hours. In the past, doctors have been able to perform penis transplants, but this transplantation of a penis and a scrotum represents a medical advance.

"We are optimistic that he will regain almost normal sexual and urinary function following a total recovery," WP Andrew Lee, professor and director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the School of Medicine, told reporters. of the University.

The penis, the scrotum without the testicles and part of the abdominal wall came from a deceased donor. The beneficiary, who requested anonymity, can now walk. He should be able to leave the hospital this week. "It's really an amazing injury, not easy to accept," he said in a brief statement. "When I woke up (after the operation), I finally felt more normal," he added.

The testicles have not been grafted for ethical reasons

The man lost his testicles in the explosion in Afghanistan but the doctors did not graft him new ones. "The testicles were not grafted because we made the decision, upstream of the program, not to graft germinal tissue, that is to say not to transplant tissue that produces sperm because that would raise a number of ethical issues, "said Johns Hopkins University plastic surgeon Damon Cooney.

Because "the capacity of the recipient of the transplant to have children would result in the transmission of genetic material from the donor (...) to the children of the transplant recipient," he explained. "And we felt there would be too many unanswered ethical questions" if that happened, he said.

The doctors say they are hopeful that the patient will be able to urinate with his penis in the coming weeks, and that he end up having enough sensations to achieve an erection. The prostate of the patient was not touched during the explosion, but having lost his testicles, he will not be able to ejaculate. The extent of his sexual functions will only be known within six months, according to doctors.

The first penis transplant in the world was carried out in China in 2006, but the recipient had to be operated on again to remove it because of "serious psychological problems" that affected him and his wife. Only four penis transplants have been successfully performed worldwide, including one announced on Monday. Two were carried out in South Africa, where the first successful operation of this type was carried out in 2015. The United States followed in 2016.

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