Thomas Manning, 64, is recovering after receiving the first penis transplant in the United States. Manning had his penis amputated in 2012 due to penile cancer. It took 15 hours for surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital to complete the transplant, medically known as a “gentitourinary vascularized composite allograft.” The surgery involved “grafting the complex microscopic vascular and neural structures of a donor organ onto the comparable structures of the recipient.” According to the surgeons, the procedure could someday be used for gender reconstruction. From CNN:
Dr. Dicken Ko, director of the hospital’s Regional Urology Program, said the objectives of the surgery were primarily to reconstruct the genitalia so that it appeared natural, followed by urinary function and hopefully sexual function. However, Ko added that while sexual function is a goal, reproduction is not, because of a concern surrounding the ethical issues of who the potential father may be.