The first Penis Transplant in the U.S. occurred last year and it was successful. The 16-hour procedure was done on a Massachusetts man and only a couple of men have undergone this procedure in the entire world today.
First on U.S. soil
The first penis transplant on U.S. soil took place at Massachusetts General Hospital and it gave a cancer survivor a chance at leading a normal life.The 54-year-old man was very eager to talk about his procedure and share with the world his second chance at a normal life. He feels it is not something that should remain in the shadows.
He was looking forward to living a normal life now that he is back to they way he was before he was stricken with cancer.
Four transplants worldwide
This U.S. transplant in 2016 was the third reported transplant in the world. A penis transplant that was done in 2006 in China was reported as a failure. The second was done in South Africa in 2014 and this transplant was so successful that the man was able to father a child, according to an archived article from the New York Times.
Then the U.S. transplant was the next in line with the fourth taking place in South Africa once again. It was this South African transplant that was successful when it came to the procedure, but the man who had this done was black and a white man's penis was used in that procedure reports The Sun.
'Botched'
Despite this second South African penis transplant being reported as a "botched" operation because the penis was the wrong color, it wasn't. It was successful for all intents and purposes, but the color of the skin didn't match. This patient had lost his penis after a botched circumcision.
The 40-year-old man was given a new penis by a South African doctor in a procedure that took a little less than 10 hours.This man has gone without a penis for 17 years, so in about six months he should be healed enough so that he will be able to stand and urinate for the first time in almost two decades.
White penis on black man
The white penis attached to the Black Man wasn't done by mistake. There are very few donors and this one donor was a match all-around when it came to the important factors, except of course for skin color.
The man won't have a white penis for the rest of his life, the color will be corrected with medical tattooing, reports the doctor.
The hospital is reporting this is the third operation of this kind in the world, but with the one in China, and the other one in South Africa, followed by the procedure in Massachusetts, it sounds as if it is the fourth, but the second one out of South Africa.
Life-saving operation
Back in the U.S., there is a waiting list for penis transplants. It is an important life-saving operation for men, some who have lost their penis in the military after a bomb went off while stationed overseas.
The Sun describes how these young men, who lose their penis due to sickness or an accident, don't think they have a chance at happiness. They can get terribly depressed knowing that they are not able to have sex for the rest of their lives or get intimate with a partner because they lack a penis and this can lead to suicide. The chances of suicide go way up under these circumstances, so the doctors believe this can be a life-saving operation.