Recent news of a successful penis transfer sheds light on the fairly new surgery that will help save lives. Earlier this month, the U.S. witnessed its first successful penis transplant done on a 64-year-old man whose rare penile cancer amputated his penis years ago.
Thomas Manning of Halifax, Massachusetts, was fortunate to receive a penis from a deceased man and his family who generously donated the male organ to help Manning recover from what cancer left his body with. The surgery took 15 hours to complete at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
"The patient, Thomas Manning, 64, of Halifax, Massachusetts, continues to recover well, with blood flow established to the donor organ and no signs of bleeding, rejection or infection," the hospital said in a statement, as reported by Today.
Manning's penis transplant is only the third successful operation of such kind in the world. According to Yahoo! Finance, the surgery is so delicate that only 4 hospitals in the U.S. are allowed by the United Network for Organ Sharing to conduct a penis transplant.
The article describes further a patient's suffering once he loses his penis. Emotional trauma, abnormal urination, declining levels of sexual intimacy and the disability to have a child are among many things patients without a penis have to endure. And unfortunately, penis donors are scarce.
The battle doesn't stop after a penis transplant. The patient will be put under life medication of anti-rejection drugs so that the new tissue will be recognized by the body. The anti-rejection drugs may also lead to unwanted side effects.
As reported by The Guardian, a Chinese man had an accident last 2006 that severely damaged his penis. He had to go through a penis transplant, the very first one doctors attempted, and it was successful. But two weeks later, the Chinese man asked his new penis to be removed because of a severe psychological problem he and his wife faced.
Despite the problems, successful penis transplants help give hope to injured military and cancer survivors who lost their genitalia. According to the New York Times, the team of surgeons who helped Manning, headed by Dr. Cerulo is working on ways to perfect their penis transplant techniques before attending to civilian patients and injured military veterans.
What is your take on penis transplants and their life-changing effects to the patient? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!
