Well, that first successful penile transplant that doctors performed several months ago appears to have worked…extremely well!
The 21-year-old man, who has not been identified, had had his penis amputated three years ago to save his life after suffering gangrene from a botched circumcision. In December, Dr. Andre van der Merwe from Stellenbosch University in Cape Town and a team of fellow surgeons performed a nine-hour surgery totransplant what he described as a “good normal penis” harvested from an organ donor.
The doctor told BBC News recently that the patient’s girlfriend has reported that she is about four months pregnant and this showed that the “transplant worked.”
“This is what we intended, that he should be able to stand up and be able to urinate and have intercourse,” Van der Merwe said. “So it is a milestone for him.”
NEWS: First successful penis transplant reportedly performed in South Africa
The patient’s testicles and sperm was not affected. The university had said in March that following his penis transplant, the patient regained urinary and reproductive functions. Van der Merwe told eNews Channel Africa that the man “is sexually active again and is very happy,” according to USA Today.
“He’s definitely smiling big,” Van der Merwe told the U.K. newspaper The Guardian on Friday. “He’s proud. He’s also a little bit shy.”
“The pregnancy is not unexpected because this man is having normal intercourse with a partner of quite a few years,” he added. “But for the recipient, it is a big thing and proof the operation has been a success. I’m happy and I have to thank my whole team.”
The patient is the second known person to undergo a penis transplant,CNNreported, adding that the first one, who underwent the procedure in China, suffered a severe psychological reaction and requested to have the organ removed. -EUOnline