The South African recipient of
the world's first penile transplant is to become a father, a surgeon who
performed the operation has told the BBC.
His girlfriend has reported that
she is about four months' pregnant, and this showed that the "transplant
worked", said Andre van der Merwe.
The 21-year-old recipient, whose
identify is being protected, lost his penis in a botched circumcision.
The operation took place in
December.
Surgeons at Stellenbosch
University and Tygerberg Hospital performed a nine-hour operation to attach a
donated penis.
Dr Van der Merwe said he was
"very pleased" when he heard that the man's girlfriend was pregnant,
and had not asked for a paternity test as there was no reason not to believe
the couple.
Further transplants
"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," Dr Van der Merwe told the BBC.
He had not expected the man to
be infertile, as he had an issue with his penis, not his testicles, the surgeon
added.
Dr Van der Merwe said the
surgical team is yet to review the success of the operation, and may then carry
out further transplants.
The boy had been left with just
1cm of his original penis as a result of the botched circumcision. He was 18
and sexually active at the time.
When attaching the donated
penis, the surgical team used some of the techniques that had been developed to
perform the first face transplants in order to connect the tiny blood vessels
and nerves.
There have been attempts at
penis transplants before, including one in China.
Accounts suggested the operation
went well, but the penis was later rejected.
Doctors say South Africa has
some of the greatest need for penis transplants in the world.
Dozens, some say hundreds, of
boys are maimed or die each year during traditional initiation ceremonies.
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