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Jun 04, 2018
A U.S. army veteran has acquired the world’s first complete penis and scrotum transplant.
The 14-hour operation was carried out by a crew of 11 surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore at the finish of March.
“We are hopeful that this transplant will assist restore near-normal urinary and sexual features for this younger man,” mentioned surgeon W.P. Andrew Lee, professor and director of plastic and reconstructive surgical procedure at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine in an announcement.
The recipient, who requested to stay nameless, was severely wounded by an improvised explosive machine whereas serving in Afghanistan. In addition to his genitals, he misplaced each legs.
The first profitable penis transplant happened in South Africa in 2014. What makes the Johns Hopkins transplant totally different is the intensive quantity of tissue concerned.
Surgeons harvested a penis, scrotum, and a part of an stomach wall from a deceased donor. They then connected the tissue by connecting a posh community of veins, arteries, and nerves. The urethra – the tube that permits urine and semen to depart the physique – was additionally connected.
The surgeons anticipate the veteran’s urinary and sexual perform to be restored in a number of months, however they don’t seem to be but positive how a lot perform will likely be recovered.
The recipient won’t be able to father organic youngsters. While the donor’s scrotum was transplanted, his testicles weren’t. This was an moral resolution on the surgeons’ half, as sperm created from donor testicles would carry the donor’s DNA, not the recipient’s.
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