World’s First Penis Transplant Patient soon to become Father
Questions were raised about a patient's sexual capability when doctors announced they have performed world's first penis transplant. The answers have been turned to yes, as girlfriend of the patient is four-months-pregnant.
In March, doctors announced that they carried out the surgery. Some obvious questions were whether or not he will be able to have children and patient's capability of sexual contact. It was a relief to know he will become father.
Pregnancy has happened naturally. The patient underwent many complications from a botched circumcision. Due to these difficulties, the patient's penis was amputated and he was left with just 1 centimeter of his original penis.
A nine-hour surgery was carried out in December to replace the penis with a donor organ. Using certain techniques to face transplants, the surgery team carried out the surgery. The surgery was carried out as a part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch.
After five weeks of the surgery, the patient was sexually active, which as per doctors meant he could urinate normally. He could also have sexual intercourse and his penis function recovered completely.
Dr. Andre van der Merwe, one of the team members involved in the surgery, said that he is happy to know that the transplant has been successful.
"This is what we intended, that he should be able to stand up and be able to urinate and have intercourse, so it is a milestone for him", said Van der Merwe.
The man who has not been named is one of the 250 South Africans who lose their penis every year in botched traditional circumcisions.