Penis Transplants Being Planned to Help Wounded Troops

Penis Transplants Being Planned to Help Wounded Troops

Many male soldiers return turn from active duty with serious injuries caused by I.E.D’s (improvised explosive devices). According to the Department of Defense Trauma Registry, between 2001 to 2012, 1,367 men in military service suffered wounds to the genitals in Iraq and Afghanistan. Almost all of them under the age of 35. The loss of genitals is one of the most devastating losses because of the psychological impact it has on the victims. Sgt. First Class Aaron Causey, who lost both legs, one testicle and part of the other from an I.E.D. while in Afghanistan with the Army in 2011, said the testicular damage was the most troubling of his injuries. Sergeant Causey said, “I don’t care who you are — military, civilian, anything — you have an injury like this, it’s more than just a physical injury.” Luckily for these soldiers, surgeons at the University of John’s Hopkins are preparing to experiment with a procedure which has never before been conducted in the US, a penis transplant. Within the next few month, the surgeons believe that they will be able to successfully transfer a penis from a deceased donor to a recipient who will be able to use this organ to the full extent of his own. The procedure, which should take around 12 hours, involves the connecting of 2 to 6 nerves and 6 or 7 veins or arteries. Only two other penis transplants have been reported in medical journals. The first was a failed attempt China in 2006 and the latter was a successful attempt South Africa last year. Of course, like any major transplant operation, there are risks which include bleeding, infection, and the possibility that the medicine needed to prevent transplant rejection will increase the odds of Cancer. Still, for many victims, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. There are some requirements which the applicants must pass. The receiver must still have his testicles and a functioning portion of his urethra, but, the good news is, if they pass these prerequisites, the patient will likely be able to produce children of his own. “Some hope to father children,” Dr. Lee, a leading researcher at John’s Hopkins, said. “I think that is a realistic goal.” This procedure will be revolutionary in restoring the manhood which many soldier feel as though they lost through their injuries. As Dr. Brandacher puts it, “It’s very hard to imagine what it means if you don’t feel whole. There are very subtle things that we take for granted that this transplant is able to give back.”

The greatest part of this surgery is that it can restore such an iconic body part. Because of the connection between manhood and the male genitals, an injury of this type can have very a severe psychological impact on the victim. Restoring the genitals to soldiers in need is a very important step forward in the recovery of the soldier and also a step forward in medical science. John’s Hopkins is licensed to perform 60 surgeries to test if this experiment is truly beneficial for the patients. If so, this will be a large step forward in learning about the human body and figuring out how to repair it. As of now, the surgery is only available for those injured in combat, but if the results of the experiment are sufficient, the surgery will soon become open to the public.

Denise Grady’s article was incredibly well written, weaving in plenty of quotes and statistics from various surgeons. There are really no complaints that I have with this article. The writing was very elegant, all the information needed on the topic was there, and the author even included graphs and diagrams to explain some of the more difficult to understand concepts such as the surgery itself. There was so much information presented that I couldn’t fit all of it into my summary in great detail so I would suggest to any reader who found my review interesting to go back and read the article for themselves.

Citation:

Grady, Denise. "Penis Transplants Being Planned to Help Wounded Troops." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Dec. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/health/penis-transplants-being-planned-to-heal-troops-hidden-wounds.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.