penis transplant (Photo : Reuters)
It appears that the world's first successful penis transplant patient is now a daddy proving that the pioneering surgery was indeed successful. The girlfriend of the 21-year-old man, who has yet to be identified, is reportedly pregnant.
Three years ago, the man had had his penis amputated to save his life after suffering gangrene from a failed circumcision. With a team of fellow surgeons, Dr. Andre Van der Merwe from Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa performed a nine-hour surgery to transplant "a good normal penis" from an organ donor.
In a recent interview with BBC News, Van der Merwe said the penis transplant patient's girlfriend has reported that she is about four months pregnant, which proved that the "transplant worked."
Van der Merwe said, "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."
According to Van der Merwe, the pregnancy is expected as the penis surgery patient is having normal intercourse with a partner of years. He said he is so happy he has to thank his entire team of surgeons.
The doctor also said that the penis transplant patient is sexually active again and is very happy. He said that the success of the penis transplant surgery makes the man smile a lot as it makes him proud although he is a little bit shy.
After the transplant, the patient's testicles and sperm were not affected. In March, Stellenbosch University had confirmed that the man regained urinary and reproductive functions after his penis transplant.
According to CNN, the man is the second known person to undergo a penis transplant but the first one, who had the surgery in China, requested to have his new penis removed after suffering a severe psychological reaction.
