Halifax Man Receives First Penis Transplant In U.S. At Mass General

BOSTON (CBS) – A man from Halifax has become the first person to receive a penis transplant in the United States, Massachusetts General Hospital announced Monday. Thomas Manning, 64, underwent the 15-hour transplant operation, called a genitourinary vascularized composite allograft (GUVCA) transplant, earlier this month. “Our courageous patient, Thomas Manning, continues to do well, and we are optimistic about this outcome and future,” said Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, who helped lead the surgical team along with Dr. Dicken Ko, at a press conference Monday morning. Cetrulo said that due to penile cancer most of Manning’s organ had been removed during a procedure in 2012 known as a penile penectomy. The replacement came from a deceased donor through the New England Organ Bank. “The surgical part, we feel, has been successful,” said Cetrulo. “But this is an allograph, it’s from an unrelated individual, and that requires immunosuppression for life, basically, until we can conquer that problem with immunologic tolerance research.” The hospital said the three purposes of the procedure were to “reconstruct external genitalia to a more natural appearance, re-establish urinary function, and potentially achieve sexual function.” Dr. Cetrulo said he was hopeful the experimental procedure would eventually be offered to others. “We’re hopeful that with these successes going forward we’ll be able to open this up to other patient populat...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Syndicated Local Halifax Massachusetts General Hospital penis transplant Thomas Manning Source Type: news