Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Health & Medicine

Man receives first penis transplant in the United States

A man recovering from penile cancer is the first American citizen to receive a penis transplant. The operation, a first in the United States, was performed by doctors at the at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to the doctors involved, more transplants will occur in the coming years. This is still, however, an experimental procedure at the forefront of medicine.

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
May 16, 2016
in Health & Medicine, News

A man recovering from penile cancer is the first American citizen to receive a penis transplant. The operation, a first in the United States, was performed by doctors at the at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to the doctors involved, more transplants will occur in the coming years. This is still, however, an experimental procedure at the forefront of medicine.

surgery-676375_1280
Credit: Pixabay

Thomas Manning, 64, had his penis removed to save his life two years ago. After surgery, he was left with a one-inch stump. He had to urinate while standing, and although he was single before when he was diagnosed with penile cancer, intimate relationships were out of the question, Manning confided to a New York Times reporter.

The hospital’s team, led by Dr. Curtis L. Cetrulo, has been preparing this operation for three years. They practiced on six cadavers, meticulously training for the difficult procedure ahead. Only two penis transplants had been performed before. The first successful penis transplant was made by doctors in South Africa in 2014, but the first attempt ended in failure in 2006 in China. The South African transplant was so successful that it ultimately resulted in a pregnancy.

ADVERTISEMENT

The operation went on pretty smoothly, despite a post-surgery complication that caused hemorrhage. Since then, recovery went well. Doctors say in a couple of weeks Manning should be able to urinate normally, and in a few months tops, should also regain sexual function. The new penis came from a donor whose family wished to remain anonymous.

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

“If I’m lucky, I get 75 percent of what I used to be,” Manning said. “Before the surgery I was 10 percent. But they made no promises. That was part of the deal.”

Ultimately, this experimental procedure will go on to help veterans. From 2001 to 2013, 1,367 veterans went through genitourinary injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan. Soldiers who come back home with genital trauma have one of the highest suicide rates among veterans. “They’re 18- to 20-year-old guys, and they feel they have no hope of intimacy or a sexual life,” Dr. Cetrulo said to the NY Times. “They can’t even go to the bathroom standing up.”

 

ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: penistransplant
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.