Penis graft :two after, the patient is doing well

Health 27 August, 2017


amoklv/epictura

Published the 27.08.2017 at 16h46



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It is a rare operation, but that seems to master perfectly a south african team. Two years after their first transplant of a penis, she reported in The Lancet that the 23-year-old is doing very well.

In march 2015, this success had made the headlines of the newspapers. Three months after the intervention, the Pr Andre van der Merwe, boss of the unit of neurology of the university of Stellenbosch (South Africa), told how he had grafted the tail of a donor in a young man of 21 years amputated 3 years earlier following a ritual circumcision that was complicated by gangrene.

Called the ukwaluka or ulwaluko, this circumcision is a rite of passage to adulthood for the young men of the Xhosa tribe. At 18, they leave their uniform in high school to shave her head, cover their bodies in white clay and bury themselves in thick blankets. They are then taken out of the city to undergo a procedure to remove the foreskin without anesthetic, disinfectant, and antibiotics.
The initiation ceremony continues for 3 or 4 weeks, during which they are isolated, deprived sometimes of water and food. If they survive these tests, they will be men. Former president Nelson Mandela was part of the ” insiders “.

A rite of initiation deadly

But if Madiba has survived and has not submitted an aftermath, hundreds of young south africans do not have this chance. In 2015, fifteen boys have died due to complications. Two years before, thirty deaths were reported. And each year, hundreds must undergo an amputation like the young man operated on by professor Andre van der Merwe.

In The Lancet, he said that the operation lasted more than 9 hours. The donor was 36 years old and was in a state of brain dead. Over the months that followed the intervention, several complications have forced doctors to operate again, or to reduce the doses of immunosuppressants.

Young dad

Process complex and heavy that it has not threatened his sexual life. One month and one week after surgery, he reported having had a sexual relationship very satisfying. It was, however, ordered to remain chaste still some time. And 24 months after the transplant, the patient has a regular sexual relations. It has also become a dad only 6 months after her operation.

A journey which should reassure the candidates to the transplant or the patient just operated on. The south african team has already operated two other men since. The United States has also conducted a transplant from deceased donor in may 2016.