Baltimore Doctors Plan to Perform First Penis Transplant in the U.S

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Baltimore Doctors Plan to Perform First Penis Transplant in the U.S

March 7th, 2016

Awake Goy

Veterans with genital injuries will be helped by penis transplants.

Doctors at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore are planning to perform a penis transplant. They have permission to perform as many as 60 penis transplants on veterans with genital injuries. The goal of these surgeries is to restore sexual function and enable the wounded vets to father children.

According to the Department of Defense, over 1,350 men suffered genital damage while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of the men were under 35 years of age and were hurt by homemade roadside bombs. Some lost all or part of their penises or testicles in what doctors call genitourinary injuries.

Personnel who work with injured veterans say that genital damage is a hidden wound accompanied by shame, stigma and embarrassment. A VA social work supervisor said, “Our young male patients would rather lose both legs and an arm than have a urogenital injury.” A Johns Hopkins doctor supported that observation, saying, “To be missing the penis and parts of the scrotum is devastating. That part of the body is strongly associated with your sense of self and identity as a male.”

For the penis transplant operations, surgeons say the new organ will come from a deceased donor and is expected to begin functioning within months of the surgery, allowing the new owner to urinate, feel sensation and eventually to have sex. Only the penis will be transplanted; there will be no transplants of the testes, where sperm are produced. This ensures that if the new owner becomes a father, the child will be genetically his and not the child of the donor. Veterans who have lost testicles completely may still be able to have penis transplants but will be unable of have biological children.

Doctors estimate that a team of 25-30 health care providers will be needed for the transplant operation which is expected to take about 12 hours. The estimated cost for the surgery is $200,000 – $400,000. Johns Hopkins will pay for the first transplant. The surgeons are donating their time. The Department of Defense has been asked to pay for other operations. The Department of Veteran Affairs will pay for the drug needed to prevent transplant rejection.

Medical records report two penis transplants. One was in China; the recipient apparently could not cope psychologically with the new organ and asked to have it removed. The other penis transplant was reported in South Africa and has been pronounced a complete success. The recipient has already impregnated his girlfriend.

The surgery will be the first in the U.S. and is being planned to occur within twelve months.