Five weeks after surgery, the world's first penile transplant recipient was able to urinate, have erections, and ejaculate.

His surgeons, a South African team from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital, expected his recovery to take about two years.

"We are very surprised by his rapid recovery," said lead surgeon André van der Merwe, head of the Stellenbosch University Division of Urology, in a press release.

Last December, the surgeons connected blood vessels and nerves from the man’s stump to a donor penis in a procedure that took about nine hours.

The 21-year-old patient had had his penis amputated three years earlier after complications from circumcision, a traditional practice for teenage boys in the Xhosa culture.

An estimated 250 penis amputations occur in South Africa each year because of botched circumcisions.

“There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from traditional circumcision,” Dr. van der Merwe explained,

As part of a pilot study, nine more transplants are planned.  

To learn more about the operation, please click here. 

Are you attending the 22nd Annual Scientific Program of the SMSNA in New Orleans on May 16, 2015?

If so, we invite you to join us at the ISSM/SMSNA Cocktail Reception in the library lounge of the Ritz Carlton New Orleans from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

Please see the full invitation here. We hope to see you there!