As he was leaving the hospital in 2012, Thomas Manning asked his doctor if a penis transplant was possible. At the time, the Massachusetts man's member was only an inch long following a partial penectomy he had to undergo due to penile cancer. His urologic oncologist, Dr. Adam Feldman, thought the idea was "outlandish," as the New York Times puts it. But then three years later, Manning got a call from Feldman: Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston was ready to try the operation. And so over May 8 and 9, 64-year-old Manning received a new penis from a deceased donor, in what was only the third such operation in the world—and, potentially, only the second to be successful.
So far, Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, who led the surgical team through the 15-hour procedure along with Dr. Dicken Ko, is "cautiously optimistic," a sentiment backed up by Manning's own admission that he has felt little pain over the last week and experienced only one complication, some hemorrhaging early on. He has been forced for years to sit to urinate, and his doctors say within a few weeks he should once again achieve "normal" urination; restored sexual function will follow. One more thing Manning tells the Times he has yet to do: closely inspect his new organ. MGH anticipates doing a second transplant, for a car-crash victim who suffered extreme burns to the area, as soon as a donor organ is available.
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Surgeons in Boston have performed the first penile transplant in the United States, a procedure that soon could help severely wounded soldiers, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital said Monday.
Thomas Manning, 64, whose penis was removed in 2012 due to penile cancer, is recovering well and showing no signs of rejecting the transplant, his surgeons said.
“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,” Manning said in a statement.
Manning, a bank courier in Halifax, Mass., underwent the operation on May 8 and 9. The surgeons who led the 15-hour procedure, Curtis Cetrulo and Dickens Ko, said they were "cautiously optimistic" Manning will regain full urinary and sexual function.
"He's doing well so far," Cetrulo said at a news conference Monday. "He is up and out of bed. Emotionally he's doing amazingly well. He's a very positive person."
Manning has been cancer free for about four years, the physicans said. He is not married, but said the transplant could help make such a relationship possible.
So far, Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, who led the surgical team through the 15-hour procedure along with Dr. Dicken Ko, is "cautiously optimistic," a sentiment backed up by Manning's own admission that he has felt little pain over the last week and experienced only one complication, some hemorrhaging early on. He has been forced for years to sit to urinate, and his doctors say within a few weeks he should once again achieve "normal" urination; restored sexual function will follow. One more thing Manning tells the Times he has yet to do: closely inspect his new organ. MGH anticipates doing a second transplant, for a car-crash victim who suffered extreme burns to the area, as soon as a donor organ is available.
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Surgeons in Boston have performed the first penile transplant in the United States, a procedure that soon could help severely wounded soldiers, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital said Monday.
Thomas Manning, 64, whose penis was removed in 2012 due to penile cancer, is recovering well and showing no signs of rejecting the transplant, his surgeons said.
“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,” Manning said in a statement.
Manning, a bank courier in Halifax, Mass., underwent the operation on May 8 and 9. The surgeons who led the 15-hour procedure, Curtis Cetrulo and Dickens Ko, said they were "cautiously optimistic" Manning will regain full urinary and sexual function.
"He's doing well so far," Cetrulo said at a news conference Monday. "He is up and out of bed. Emotionally he's doing amazingly well. He's a very positive person."
Manning has been cancer free for about four years, the physicans said. He is not married, but said the transplant could help make such a relationship possible.
