MGH doctors ‘cautiously optimistic’ about first penis transplant
Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said in a press conference on Monday that they ventured into “uncharted waters” when they performed America’s first penile transplant last week.
Thomas Manning, a 64-year-old bank courier from Halifax, Massachusetts, underwent the experimental, 15-hour procedure last week, The New York Times reports. Most of Manning’s penis had been removed by doctors in 2012 due to penile cancer, doctors at MGH said.
Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who led the surgical team, said that Manning was doing well and that doctors were “cautiously optimistic” he would continue to improve. Cetrulo also said the technology for the procedure could pave the way for similar advances in the future.
“We hope that this will be a common part of reconstructive surgery going forward,” Cetrulo said.
MGH doctors had spent more than three years planning for the transplant, and the operation included about a dozen surgeons and 30 other health care workers, the Times reports.
Dr. Dicken Ko, a urology and transplant surgeon who also led the surgical team, said the transplant had three main goals: To reconstruct a natural appearance, to recreate regular urinary function, and to achieve sexual function.
Cetrulo said that many men who suffer injuries to their genitalia can become depressed and suffer from social isolation.
Dr. Jay Austen, the chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at MGH, said Manning had asked unprovoked about a potential penile transplant shortly after his cancer surgery. Shortly afterward, the program to develop that technology began.
“I want to go back to being who I was,” Manning said in an interview with The New York Times.
If Manning fares well, doctors hope to expand the penis transplant technology to military veterans with severe pelvis injuries.
“His outlook is that he wants to share this technology with those who need it,” Cetrulo said. “He wants to be whole again, [and] not be in the shadows about an injury such as this.”
In a statement read by an MGH official, Manning thanked the hospital’s medical team.
“Today I begin a new chapter filled with personal hope and hope for others who have suffered genital injuries, particularly for our service members who put their lives on the line and suffer serious damage as a result,” the statement from Manning said.
The transplanted penis came from a deceased donor with the same blood type and a similar skin tone as Manning. Alexandra Glazier, president and CEO of the New England Organ Bank, thanked the donor family in a statement.
“To this donor family, we offer our thoughts as they struggle with their loss and our humble thank you, deep appreciation and admiration for the humanity they showed,” Glazier said. “They wish the recipient to know that they feel blessed and are delighted to hear his recovery is going well and are praying that his recovery continues.”
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