Transplanting 'second-hand penis'? What is the difference between men receiving penis transplants and ordinary men?

Heard of heart transplant, kidney transplant... and a series of organ transplants, but have you heard of penis transplant?

In 2018, the world's first full penis and scrotum transplant was completed in the United States. Post-operatively, the patient who underwent the procedure said, "I feel whole!"

How is the transplant surgery performed? How are transplanted patients different from ordinary men?

1. Lost genitals due to war: "I don't feel like a man"

The accident happened in 2010, and the battlefield in Afghanistan was full of wolves.

The young man was still in an ambush. One was dodging and accidentally bumped into an explosive device. He was rescued, but he lost his legs, scrotum, testicles and part of the lower abdominal wall, and only 1.5 centimeters of penis tissue remained .

For him, the pain of losing his genitals is far worse than amputation. "I can't see myself as a man..." The young man once had suicidal thoughts.

Three years after the accident, he mustered the courage to seek medical help. After some conversation, Richard Redett, a plastic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, felt that young people could try a penis transplant -- not to create a penis, but to transplant real genitals.

Of course, surgery is not easy. This time, in addition to the penis, the scrotum and part of the abdominal wall need to be transplanted . Although the operation was difficult, the young man was not shaken, and he was very eager for the chance to be "reborn".

In 2018, he finally waited for a suitable organ donation and underwent a 14-hour operation. Now, nearly 4 years have passed since the operation, and according to reports from the medical team, the patient is doing well. The young man himself felt that the life that had been shattered in the past was slowly being put back together.

"I don't regret it, it was the best decision I've ever made."

2. Transplanted "second-hand" Tintin, how is it different from ordinary people?

The patient received someone else's penis, and many people may be curious, what is the surgical procedure like? How is it different from ordinary people?

Before the time turned to the young man's surgery, Richard Reid's team made a set of surgical illustrations: the surgical process requires opening the lower abdominal wall, fully exposing the surgical site of the control recipient, and removing the donor's penis, scrotum and scrotum. abdominal tissue.

The urethra is surgically attached, followed by suturing of the penile suspensory ligament. Then there are arteries, veins, nerves, etc.; to restore function, the surgical team reroutes certain arteries so that the penis can receive adequate blood supply. Finally, connect the skin blood vessels.

After observation, rehabilitation, etc., 18 months after the operation, the transplanted penis functioned well, not only could stand to urinate, but also got up in the morning with "morning erection".

In terms of use and reproduction, compared with ordinary people, because the transplanted organ has no testicles, which means that there is no sperm , it is impossible to reproduce offspring. And, as with any transplant, young adults also require long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs.

3. Who can use the "penis pacemaker", the ultimate therapy for ED?

With the continuous development of technology, there are also new ways to deal with the problem of male erectile dysfunction...

Erectile dysfunction, also known as "impotence". The causes of erectile dysfunction are generally related to psycho-psychological ED, organic ED, and mixed ED .

Psychopsychological ED : mostly caused by mental and psychological factors such as tension, stress, depression, anxiety, and discord between husband and wife, such as incoordination of daily husband and wife relationship, lack of sexual knowledge, bad sexual experience, life and work or economic pressure.

Organic ED : related to vascular disease, neurological disease, surgery and trauma, endocrine disease, long-term use of certain drugs, etc.

Mixed ED : erectile dysfunction caused by both mental and physical factors.

How should men treat erectile dysfunction?

Although ED involves multiple factors, it can be divided into three grades according to the degree of mild, moderate and severe. Patients with mild disease are generally treated or corrected through psychological, physiological and other means, while for patients with severe ED, a "artifact" - a penile pacemaker is needed .

So what is a "penis pacemaker"?

The penis pacemaker is an artificial organ that can be implanted into the human body. The name is also called "artificial sponge". It consists of three parts, including two cylinders, a reservoir and a pump. It can be artificially controlled to have the same effect as the swelling of the cavernous body.

Currently benefiting 400,000 men worldwide, it is called the "ultimate cure" for impotence (ED) by the medical community .

Through artificial transformation, Tintin can be allowed to "stand up" as long as he wants, and as long as the vas deferens is not damaged, he can still ejaculate normally.

However, this "modified penis" is not suitable for everyone. There are currently three suitable groups of people: patients with ED after radical prostatectomy, patients with refractory ED, and patients with ED due to long-term diabetes and heart disease .

Source: Boston Scientific official website

When erectile dysfunction occurs, many men do not get timely treatment out of "face", which also leads to more serious negative emotions and many unhappy couples' lives.

Male ED is not a terminal illness. According to the patient's condition, first of all, mental treatment should be carried out to relieve the mental burden, so that the patient's anxiety, fear, etc., should be understood and communicated with each other between husband and wife, and jointly create a beautiful atmosphere of sexual life. It can also help men regain their "confidence".

References:

[1] "A year and a half after transplanting "second-hand" Tintin, what happened to him? 》. Nutshell 2019-11-18

[2] "The doctor replaced him with a "second-hand" Tintin, fully functional! 》. Digestive and Liver Disease Channel of the Medical Profession. 2019-11-09

[3] "[Answer a question] The penis pacemaker is here, is it really that good? 》. Zhongshan Sixth Hospital. 2021-08-01

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