deceased donor, and the surgeons, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, say they expect it to start working in a matter of months, developing urinary function, sensation and, eventually, the ability to have sex.
From 2001 to 2013, 1,367 men in military service suffered wounds to the genitals in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense Trauma Registry. Nearly all were under 35 and were hurt by homemade bombs, commonly called improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.s. Some lost all or part of their penises or testicles — what doctors call genitourinary injuries .
Missing limbs have become a well-known symbol of these wars, but genital damage is a hidden wound — and, to many, a far worse one — cloaked in shame, stigma and embarrassment.
Surgeons are preparing to perform the first penis transplant in the United States.
RECIPIENT
DONATION
An organ donor who has recently died will have his penis removed, with the permission of his family.
CONNECTION
Major blood vessels and nerves will be connected to the recipient and stitched together under a microscope.
FUNCTION
If the operation is successful, doctors hope that sexual function will be possible once the recipient’s nerves grow into the transplant, a process that could take several months.
Urethra
Arteries
Veins
Nerves
DONOR
PENIS
“These genitourinary injuries are not things we hear about or read about very often,” said Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, the chairman of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins. “I think one would agree it is as devastating as anything that our wounded warriors suffer, for a young man to come home in his early 20s with the pelvic area completely destroyed.”
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That will be fantastic.
Agreed. Good for the surgeons.
We owe it to those who put it all on the line for us to get them as normal a life as possible as soon as it can be arranged.
If it is technically possibly, any vet hurt in action shoukd be restored. We owe them. That would be a use of my taxes that I could enthusiastically support.
I have to agree with you all. I think that for most men, this is as much of a mental trauma as a physical one, and one we owe every vet.
Amazing. If they can do this, can they transplant limbs as well?
Yes they can and they have been doing it at Hopkins along with other hospitals, but it is much more complicated for parts like hands, and they find that most people are doing better with robotics than human parts and there is no need for anti rejection meds, which can run the individual the risk of cancer.
You two should get a room.
Perrie must be so proud of the way her seed has been received.
What an incredible medical accomplishment this would be but more importantly it is essential that we support every effort in restoring something as vital as the ability to have a family and future generations. Any service man suffering from injuries of this nature should without question have the option for this surgery and the VA should pay for it, 100%. It’s also worth noting how important the role of stem cells is in making this a possibility.