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First penis transplant in the United States a success 19 May 2016 The first penis transplant in the US is a success. American Thomas Manning is happy to be sitting on a chair. A few weeks ago that wasn't possible. A rare penile cancer required surgery that cut off most of his penis. But thanks to a successful penis transplantation and a deceased donor, doctors expect Manning to be back to normal. The procedure was a partial penectomy, but all that was left after surgery was a one-inch stump that had the bank courier sitting to urinate, unable to sit comfortably and having to abstain from intimate relations. But a week after the successful transplant, Manning is doing better and looking forward to living a normal life. His is the first successful penis transplant in the United States. There have already been three attempts at penile transplantation. Manning's is the second successful one. According to The Guardian, the world's first transplant, performed by Chinese surgeons in 2006, failed because the patient psychologically rejected the alteration although it was a surgical success. There was no sign of physical rejection but two weeks later, the transplanted penis had to be removed. The second attempt was done in South Africa, late in 2014. It is the first successful transplant and has already yielded very positive results - the patient's girlfriend is reportedly pregnant, according to CNN. Mr. Manning's surgery took 15 hours to complete. It was performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital, starting on May 8 and lasting until the following day. The cancer was diagnosed after he went to see a doctor due to an accident. Heavy equipment struck him. His physician noticed an abnormal growth in his genitals. Manning was eventually told it was an aggressive form of cancer and must be removed via surgery. The surgery went well, although there was a complication a day after that required another trip to the surgical theater to deal with hemorrhage. Manning is doing better now and hardly feels any pain. In the next several weeks or months , he expects to fully regain urinating and even sexual functions. But Manning will likely have to take anti-rejection medication for an extended period of time. According to the Chinese pioneers, a lot of complex microsurgeries are needed to be performed in the transplantation process. It took 3 years for the USA team to prepare for the surgery. The team had to operate on five to six dead donors to learn the tissue removals and perform cadaver dissections to get a better mapping of the anatomy. “We’re cautiously optimistic, it’s uncharted waters for us,” said one of the surgeons, Dr Curtis L Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, who estimated the surgery to cost around $50,000 to $75,000. Mr Manning’s bill was paid by the hospital and doctors did not charge him. Dr Dicken Ko, team leader and director of the hospital’s regional urology, explained the hospital will only handle one patient at a time. He added that the surgery is currently offered to cancer and trauma patients, not to transgender people. Penile transplantation is part of an experimental research programme which aims to help combat veterans with pelvic injuries, cancer patients, and accident victims. In the US, suicide rate among war veterans whose genitals and urinary sections have been damaged is high. Dr Cetrulo mentioned these victims are mostly between 18 to 20 years old. He said these men feel hopeless for missing out on intimate or sexual relations, so a penis transplant would address their pyschological hardship and could be lifesaving. But before the team can actually operate on veterans, they will perfect the surgical method on civilians first. MIMS ______ Personally, I cracked up when I read the name of the doctor: "Dr DICKen"