A United States man who had his penis removed due to cancer has received the nations first penis transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Just last week Thomas Manning, a 64-year-old bank courier from Halifax, Massachusetts underwent the 15-hour surgery, which was made possible from the organs of a deceased donor. He becomes just the third person in the world after transplants in South Africa in 2014 and China in 2005.
The recipient patient from South Africa remains healthy and was able to father a child, although the child was stillborn. However, the Chinese man had his transplanted penis removed after only a few weeks as he claimed it made both himself and his wife uncomfortable.
Manning was diagnosed with penile cancer after a workplace accident in which he slipped on ice. He was subsequently told that due to the nature of the cancer quick and aggressive steps had to be taken.
Talking from his hospital bed, Mr Manning told that media that “I want to go back to being who I was.” Doctors remained incredibly optimistic that Mr Manning would make a full recovery and would be able to start urinating normally in just a few weeks, although sexual function was much further down the line. “There is no doubt in my mind that everything is going to work. And I mean everything,” Mr Manning said. “You can interpret that any way you wish,” he added with a grin on his face.
Although the main procedure was complete, Manning was going to stay on at the hospital and undergo mainly cosmetic surgery to improve the appearance of the new organ.
The procedure is said to give hope to cancer survivors and accident victims and eventually will hopefully benefit those in the transgender community.