A cancer patient in the United States is the
second man in the world to have successfully
received a penis transplant from a deceased
organ donor.
Lots of the time, we as science reporters
aren’t too concerned with the second instance
of anything, but – well, first of all, we
should be, because it means that the science
behind the first instance is working. That’s
rad. Secondly, in this case, it’s more than
just a salacious headline. Penile cancer is
relatively rare, affecting between one and
four men out of every 100 thousand in different
populations around the world. Still, in the
U.S. alone, some 2 thousand new cases will
be diagnosed in 2016, according to the American
Cancer Society. The most common treatment
is penectomy – an at least partial removal
of the penis to prevent the disease from spreading
and becoming fatal. That’s what happened
to Thomas Manning, the 64-year-old recipient
of the world’s second successful penis transplant.
Three years ago, a work accident led him to
a hospitalization, during which his aggressive
and potentially fatal cancer was detected.
That's one lucky accident. After a partial penectomy
left him with a one-inch stump, Manning reported
such a decreased quality of life that he convinced
a medical team to develop a transplant plan.
Transplanting any organ is a massive undertaking.
The first such surgery that actually worked,
a kidney transplant among identical twins,
didn’t happen until 1954. Now, thousands
of kidney, liver, and lung transplants are
conducted each year in the U.S. alone. But
the first successful penis transplant didn’t
happen until 2014, in South Africa. It restored
urological and sexual function to a 21-year
old. He’d had a penectomy after his ritual
circumcision went poorly, and gangrene set
in. Following in that team’s footsteps,
Manning’s 12-surgeon team performed the
procedure over 15 hours. They say they’re
cautiously optimistic that Manning will regain
75% of his former function. And Manning himself
is in good spirits. That last part may be
the least scientific factor in the surgery,
but it’s still important. The first attempted
penis transplant, conducted in China in 2006,
went physically well – but ended in removal
of the transplanted organ, reportedly due
to the patient’s (and his wife’s) psychological
distress.
And quality of life is, after all, the point
of penile transplants. Manning’s team, and
others like them, are hoping to apply these
results to not only other cancer patients,
but also to combat veterans and other men
with severe pelvic injuries.
So, what do you hope the future might hold for
medical procedures like this? Get in touch
and let us know. And of course, to learn about
lots of other cutting-edge science, head to
our home planet – now.howstuffworks.com
– every day.
