The first successful penis transplant in the United States and the third in the world was performed by doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on a 64 year-old man from Halifax. Massachusetts.

Thomas Manning received the penis from a deceased donor during a 15-hour operation last month. He should recover sexual function in the coming months, said Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, a plastic surgeon who took part in the operation. Manning might have normal urination restored in a few weeks' time.

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Dr. Certulo said the surgical team was "cautiously optimistic" about the surgery.

"Surgeons connected the intricate vascular and nerve structures of a donor penis with those of the 64-year-old transplant recipient," said the hospital in a statement. The hospital also called the surgery a "surgical milestone" and said it "holds promise for patients with devastating genitourinary injuries and disease."

Manning can take heart from the results of the world's first successful penis transplant performed at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa in December 2014. The girlfriend of the 21 year-old patient was reported being four months pregnant in June 2015 and should have given birth in October.

There has been no news, however, of this birth in the media. The second successful penis transplant took place in China but the patient had his new penis removed following severe psychological problems.

Manning's penis was removed in 2012 after an examination following a work accident found an abnormal growth on his penis. Manning  said that with his penis mostly removed, sex was impossible and he had to urinate sitting down.

TagsPenis Transplant, Massachusetts General Hospital, Thomas Manning, Tygerberg Hospital