John Hopkins University School of Medicine announced today that a U.S. military sergeant who was severely injured in an Afghanistan bombing several years ago has received the world’s first total penis and scrotum transplant.
The man, whose identity was not released, is still recovering and likely to regain both urinary and sexual function, Richard Redett, who led the transplant team, said Monday in a telephone news conference.
The sergeant did not receive testicles from his donor to avoid the ethical issues that might ensue if he later had children, said Damon Cooney, another transplant team member. The testicles would have contained the sperm from the recently deceased donor.
The donor was not identified, nor was his cause of death. However, his family did release a statement praising the sergeant’s service to his country and noting the donor family includes a number of veterans.
“We are so thankful to say that our loved one would be proud and honored to know he provided such a special gift to you,” said the statement, read by Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of New England Donor Services, which arranged for the donation. “We hope you can return to better health very soon, and we continue to wish you a speedy recovery.”
Two years ago, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital performed a more limited transplant on a penile cancer patient. That patient, Thomas Manning, continues to do well, though the hospital has yet to conduct another penile transplant. There were two earlier successful penile transplants in South Africa, as well as an unsuccessful one in China.
The Johns Hopkins surgery, performed in a 14-hour procedure in late March, was the most extensive, involving more tissue than what has been previously transplanted, the surgeons said.
In addition to a large skin graft covering part of the sergeant’s abdomen, penis, and scrotum, surgeons connected three arteries, four veins, and two nerves to provide blood flow and sensation to the donated tissue.
His internal organs were not damaged by the blast.
Redett said he expects the soldier will regain the ability to urinate by the time he leaves the hospital this week. It will take about six months for the nerves to regrow enough to restore sexual function and sensation, but Redett said he is optimistic this will occur.
Johns Hopkins covered the cost of the procedure and hopes to complete more in the near future, said W.P. Andrew Lee, who directs the hospital’s Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The hospital does not plan to use the procedure for gender reassignment surgery, he said.
