Massachusetts General Hospital performs 1st penis transplant in US on 64-year-old penile cancer patient

The Massachusetts General Hospital has beaten John Hopkins University School of Medicine in performing the penis transplant surgery in the US. The first patient was supposed to be a soldier whose genitals were damaged by a bomb blast in Afghanistan.

However, on Monday, the Massachusetts General Hospital announced the first genitourinary vascularised composite allograft or penile transplant in the country. The patient in the 15-hour surgery, held in early May, is 64-year-old Thomas Manning of Halifax, Massachusetts.

Manning was diagnosed with penile cancer in 2012 which required him to first undergo amputation of his penis, reports The New York Post. After three and a half year of research and collaboration across different departments and divisions within the hospital, a team led by Dr Curtis Cetrulo Jr and Dr Dicken Ko performed successfully the pioneering surgery.

The team worked closely with the New England Organ Bank and developed key strategic surgical approaches to reconstruct the patient’s external genitalia and give it a more natural appearance, re-establish Manning’s urinary function and potentially achieve sexual function.

The penis came from a dead donor. The family of the deceased donor requested for anonymity but wished Manning well.

Manning is recovering well, blood flows to the transplanted penis and there are no signs that the patient is experiencing bleeding, rejection or infection. However, the New York Times reports that one day after the surgery, Manning started to hemorrhage, but he eventually recovered.

Manning, a bank courier, says he looks forward to returning to his job and having a love life again. He was single and not involved with anyone when he was diagnosed with penile cancer in 2012.

Cetrulo expects the patient to have normal urination in a few weeks and sexual function in a few weeks to months. Cetrulo would also be involved in performing the same procedure on wounded veterans. The Defense Department did not rush with making history by performing the first penis transplant surgery in the US because it does not want “wounded warriors to undergo unproven techniques.”

The hospital is scheduled to perform a second transplant on a man whose genital was destroyed by burns in a vehicular accident but is waiting for a matching donor.

Cetrulo says, “We are hopeful that these reconstructive techniques will allow us to alleviate the suffering and despair of those who have experienced genitourinary injuries and are often so despondent they consider taking their own lives.”