Back in March doctors announced the world's first successful penis transplant.  Now, the surgical team has announced that the patient’s girlfriend is pregnant.  This is exciting news for everyone involved, as it means that this procedure was truly successful. 

Not only is the organ fully function for sex and urination, but reproductive function was also restored.  This gives hope to men who have had penile amputations for one reason or another – it does not need to mean an end to your sex life or your potential for fatherhood.  Cleary this case is evidence of that. 

The original penile transplant procedure was undertaken in December of last year at Tygerberg Hospital, and lasted 9 hours.  The South African patient had lost his penis due to an infection caused by a ritual circumcision during a coming-of-age ceremony.  This amputation was a life-saving measure after the near fatal infection.  

Fortunately for this man, a cadaver organ was donated and a successful surgery was performed.  Surgeons hoped that recovery would take about two years, but results were even better than expected.    Within three months, the organ was fully functioning for sex and urination.  The full sensation, however, may take longer to recover. 

The girlfriend of the world's first successful penis transplant is reportedly four months pregnant right now.  This is big news for the 18 year old, who was on a list of about 9 other men waiting for penile transplants from the surgical team. The recovery was expected to last much longer, two years to be exact – so this pregnancy is a bit of a surgical miracle.  The success of the surgery was only announced in March, by which time it seems the patient was ready to put his good fortune to the test. 

Happily, the transplant has restored all of the man's urinary and reproductive functions – and will be a hopeful sign for other men also awaiting a similar restorative surgery.  As more of these procedures are attempted, doctors may be able to use artificial biological penises (from stem cells), rather than rely on donated organs.  This will be innovative in that a patient could have his own working organ back, as well as eliminated health risks associated with transplants or rejection of the new organ. 

Overall, this is great news for both the patient and the South African surgical team who was able to announce the success of the world’s first successful penile transplant.  This is especially important in Africa where many young men lose their penises every year due to ritual circumcisions.  Complications from these ritual procedures occur because of poor sanitation and resulting infections. 

To save these men’s lives, there are about 250 penis amputations being performed yearly.  Meanwhile, up to 50 men die from the ceremonial circumcisions yearly.  The success of this penile transplant, and the reproductive function, gives hope to other young men who may have lost the organ through a ceremonial circumcision, accident or traumatic event. 

Furthermore, this procedure could have wider implications for men with erectile dysfunction.  Fine-tuned surgical techniques to restore penile function in those with poor sexual function could help restore both function and fertility for men in need one day.