Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Veteran Injured In Blast Undergoes Complex Penis Transplant Surgery
The New York Times: ‘Whole Again’: A Vet Maimed By An I.E.D. Receives A Transplanted Penis
In a 14-hour operation, a young military veteran whose genitals were blown off by a bomb received an extraordinary transplant: a penis, scrotum and portion of the abdominal wall, taken from a deceased organ donor. The surgery, performed last month at Johns Hopkins Hospital, was the most complex and extensive penis transplant to date, and the first performed on a combat veteran maimed by a blast. (Grady, 4/23)
The Associated Press: Veteran Who Survived Blast Receives Unusual Penis Transplant
Saying they wanted to address "an unspoken injury of war," Johns Hopkins University surgeons rebuilt the man's entire pelvic region — transplanting a penis, scrotum and part of the abdominal wall from a deceased donor — in a highly experimental 14-hour operation last month. Such transplants "can help those warriors with missing genitalia just as hand and arm transplant transformed the lives of amputees," Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, Hopkins' chairman of plastic and reconstructive surgery, told reporters Monday. (Neergaard, 4/23)
The Washington Post: Veteran, Injured By A Roadside Bomb, Receives Transplanted Penis And Scrotum
Doctors said they hoped that the patient, who is expected to be released from the hospital this week, would regain “near-normal” urinary and sexual functions as he recovers and his nerves heal over the coming months. “It’s a real mind-boggling injury to suffer; it is not an easy one to accept,” the patient said in a release. “When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal.” (Rosenberg, 4/23)
NPR: First Penis And Scrotum Transplant, Johns Hopkins Surgeons Say
The man's fertility won't be restored, however. His testicles did not survive his ordeal and a testicle transplant would raise deep ethical issues, because the genetic material in the sperm would be from the donor, not the recipient. (Harris, 4/23)
