Adults only please.....What do you think about this story?

Question

First penis transplant reversed after two weeks Tue Sep 19, 8:41 AM ET



Surgeons in China who said they performed the first successful penis transplant had to remove the donated organ because of the severe psychological problems it caused to the recipient and his wife.

Dr Weilie Hu and surgeons at Guangzhou General Hospital in China performed the complex 15-hour surgery on a 44-year old man whose penis had been damaged in a traumatic accident.

The microsurgery to attach the penis, which had been donated by the parents of a 22-year-old brain-dead man, was successful but Hu and his team removed it two weeks later.

"Because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off," Hu said in a report published online by the peer reviewed journal European Urology, without elaborating.

"This is the first reported case of penile transplantation in a human," Hu added.

Both the man and his wife had requested the surgery. He had been unable to have intercourse or urinate properly since the accident that occurred 8 months before the surgery was performed.

Ten days after the operation, which had been approved by the hospital's medical ethical committee, the recipient had been able to urinate.

There had been no signs of the 10-centimetre (4-inch) organ being rejected by the recipient's body. But Hu said more cases and longer observation are needed to determine whether sexual sensation and function can be restored.

"The patient finally decided to give up the treatment because of the wife's psychological rejection, as well as the swollen shape of the transplanted penis" Hu added.

In a commentary in the journal, Yoram Vardi, of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, said the successful surgery represents an additional step in contemporary medicine.

But he added that careful patient selection is required as well as thorough informed consent of the patient and his family.

"Satisfactory consideration of these issues must be taken into account so that this approach can be considered a serious therapeutic option in the future," Vardi added.

Answer 1

Very interesting.

Answer 2

They went through all that for a 4 inch penis ?
Seriously though , they didn't wait long enough before they decided to give up on the idea. Two weeks is a very short period of time to see results of surgery like that. People who have had amputations often wait months if not longer to see what the final outcome will look like.
The wife was selfish , this poor guy has to live w/o a penis for the rest of his life , maybe another 30 or 40 years , because his wife couldn't bide her time and wait for the final result.

Answer 3

It probably requires something more than what the medicos say. The psychological preparation and the psychiatric treatment might benefit such patients. Never the less it is the mind set or the mind block that makes the difference between acceptance and rejection of anything including a transplanted organ. It is indeed a set ahead in the field of science though.

Answer 4

If my husband was very pleased with the surgery and it benefited him, then I would not disapprove of it. I think I would have been suffering more psychologically that my husband was unhappy and couldn't function than him having a funny shaped penis. The wife already knew from the beginning that he would get another man's penis, and if I knew that, I would not expect to seek sexual penetration from my husband. If I know that my husband would be less functional without it, then I would have him keep it. She stayed with him while the damage was done to his penis and they wasn't having sex before the transplant so what would the difference be of not having sexual penetration after the transplant? Oh I know his quality of life would have increased! I think she was selfish.

Answer 5

I think they should provide medical counseling for both the man and the woman before the procedure. I think the wife should have waited before totally rejecting the transplant because the swelling may have gone down. I think it is good that you can get such a significant part of you back if you lose it. I think with time, they will perfect this process.

Answer 6

Hmmm, evidently traumatic for both s/he, however more psychological testing and counseling should have been done for both parties.
But the surgery was done, and the physiologic result of the male being able to urinate was a positive result. So the experiment was a success with great potential, yes?

Answer 7

I guess some people are never happy. First he and his wife should've been happy that he survived the traumatic accident. Second they should've both been ecstatic that some even offered to donate a penis (providing that it was tested for all STDs). How many men would check that box on the back of their license? I say let his limp dick suffer and put a catheter on him then he shouldn't have anything else to complain about.

Answer 8

Yeah that would be kinda freaky having sex with someone who's penis wasn't theirs.... but then again why did she agree to it in the first place?? I mean if it was a problem she should have said something before he did it. And the poor braindead guy, you know new research suggests their brain is not really dead.... can you imagine what might have been going thru his head???

Answer 9

They are transplanting just about everything these days, so why not a penis. The psychological side of this type of transplant must be tremendous and amusing if you stop to think about it.

Answer 10

You would think that with all the thought that came with the set up of the operation that they would of at least looked for a penis bigger then 4 inches. Don't you think? I mean if it was to never work properly you would at least have a bigger penis that looked good. Just my opinion.

Answer 11

I feel sorry for the couple. It must be horrible not to be able to have sex anymore. They must feel so disconnected from each other, and the man must struggle with his sense of masculinity. I hope that the wife will be loving, supportive and understanding and stay with her husband. It's not like he wants it to be that way, so she shouldn't be selfish and take it out on him by leaving. She can always "do it herself" behind closed doors. She needs to keep him from experiencing more pain than he already has. I hope things look up for them.