Johns Hopkins Hospital A diagram outlining the complex procedure

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The pioneering surgery was undertaken by surgeons at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University on a soldier wounded after stepping on a bomb in Afghanistan.



A medical team used a penis, scrotum and partial abdominal wall, which was transplanted from a deceased donor.



The soldier should be able to regain sexual function, which is impossible in the case of the alternative treatment of a penis reconstruction.



A total of 11 surgeons, took 14 hours to perform the operation, which was carried out on March 24.

GETTY Dr WP Andrew Lee, of Johns Hopkins University's School Of Medicine

Genitalia wounds are an unspoken injury of war Surgeon Dr WP Andrew Lee

The donor testicles were not transplanted as a result of what doctors referred to as “ethical considerations”.



Dr WP Andrew Lee, head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Johns Hopkins University, said: "While extremity amputations are visible and resultant disability obvious some war injuries are hidden and their impact not widely appreciated by others."



Genitalia wounds are an "unspoken injury of war”, he said, adding: "In a 2014 symposium co-sponsored by Johns Hopkins titled Intimacy After Injury, we heard from the spouses, families, and caregivers of these wounded warriors about the devastating impact of genitourinary injuries on their identity, self-esteem and intimate relationships."



The soldier, who has asked for anonymity, said in a statement: "It's a real mind-boggling injury to suffer; it is not an easy one to accept.

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"When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal with a level of confidence as well.



“Confidence like finally I'm OK now."



The transplant, whereby a body part or tissue is transferred from one individual to another, is called vascularised composite allotransplantation.



The surgery involves transplanting skin, muscles and tendons, nerves, bone, and blood vessels.

As with any transplant surgery, tissue rejection is a possibility and the soldier is taking immunosuppressive drugs to reduce the risk of this happening. Dr Lee’s team has developed a procedure aimed at minimising the number of these drugs required to prevent rejection.



All being well, experts believe their patient will be fully recovered in six to 12 months.

