A successful penis transplant at the University of Stellenbosch’s faculty of medicine and health sciences might be out of the grasp of Eastern Cape victims of botched circumcisions because of the huge cost of the procedure.
The university announced last week that it had performed the world’s first successful penile transplant in December last year, an event described by an East London plastic surgeon as “fabulous” and by a traditional leader as “good news”.
The 21-year-old patient was the victim of a botched circumcision. For ethical reasons, the patient was not identified by the university.
But the operation might be out of reach for more than 300 Eastern Cape youths who have lost their manhood in similar circumstances.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said rejoicing at the successful operation should be muted as the perpetrators of the mutilations were still walking free.
“We need to prevent it from happening. We can’t be excited; the perpetrators who have committed these crimes need to be charged,” he said.
Kupelo said there needed to be a discussion with relevant authorities.
“It’s an intergovernmental matter. We have more than 300 of these victims and this will require a lot of money.”
But East London plastic surgeon Dr Tim Perks was upbeat, saying these were exciting times for the country’s medical profession as the transplant was the first of its kind.
“This is fabulous. It is expensive in that there is a lot that needed to be done, like follow-up therapies, but going forward it will get better and better,” said Perks.
“The transplant can take many hours of work from specialists. Also, other things like tissue type and the donor body need to be considered.”
Eastern Cape traditional leader Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe said the medical professors had done work that would restore confidence for men who lost their manhood.
“They’ve done extraordinary work and this is good news. These men have endured emotional and physical pain. This is groundbreaking,” said Burns-Ncamashe.
The surgery was done by a team of pioneering surgeons from Stellenbosch University (SU) and Tygerberg Hospital.
The marathon nine-hour operation, led by Professor André van der Merwe, head of SU’s division of urology, was performed at Tygerberg Hospital.
The dean of Stellenbosch’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, Professor Jimmy Volmink, said South Africa remained at the forefront of medical progress.
The 21-year-old patient has made a full recovery and has regained all urinary and reproductive functions in the newly transplanted organ.
“Our goal was that he would be fully functional at two years and we are very surprised by his rapid recovery,” Van der Merwe said.
The university has announced that nine other patients will receive penile transplants.
“We really don’t know these patients,” said Kupelo. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Penis transplant hailed as world first
The university announced last week that it had performed the world’s first successful penile transplant in December last year, an event described by an East London plastic surgeon as “fabulous” and by a traditional leader as “good news”.
The 21-year-old patient was the victim of a botched circumcision. For ethical reasons, the patient was not identified by the university.
But the operation might be out of reach for more than 300 Eastern Cape youths who have lost their manhood in similar circumstances.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said rejoicing at the successful operation should be muted as the perpetrators of the mutilations were still walking free.
“We need to prevent it from happening. We can’t be excited; the perpetrators who have committed these crimes need to be charged,” he said.
Kupelo said there needed to be a discussion with relevant authorities.
“It’s an intergovernmental matter. We have more than 300 of these victims and this will require a lot of money.”
But East London plastic surgeon Dr Tim Perks was upbeat, saying these were exciting times for the country’s medical profession as the transplant was the first of its kind.
“This is fabulous. It is expensive in that there is a lot that needed to be done, like follow-up therapies, but going forward it will get better and better,” said Perks.
“The transplant can take many hours of work from specialists. Also, other things like tissue type and the donor body need to be considered.”
Eastern Cape traditional leader Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe said the medical professors had done work that would restore confidence for men who lost their manhood.
“They’ve done extraordinary work and this is good news. These men have endured emotional and physical pain. This is groundbreaking,” said Burns-Ncamashe.
The surgery was done by a team of pioneering surgeons from Stellenbosch University (SU) and Tygerberg Hospital.
The marathon nine-hour operation, led by Professor André van der Merwe, head of SU’s division of urology, was performed at Tygerberg Hospital.
The dean of Stellenbosch’s faculty of medicine and health sciences, Professor Jimmy Volmink, said South Africa remained at the forefront of medical progress.
The 21-year-old patient has made a full recovery and has regained all urinary and reproductive functions in the newly transplanted organ.
“Our goal was that he would be fully functional at two years and we are very surprised by his rapid recovery,” Van der Merwe said.
The university has announced that nine other patients will receive penile transplants.
“We really don’t know these patients,” said Kupelo. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos