The John Hopkins University revealed on Monday that it performed the world’s very first total penis and scrotum transplant. The recipient of the transplant was a US military veteran who was severely injured in a blast in Afghanistan. The surgery took place on March 26 and was performed by a team of 11 surgeons, which comprised nine plastic surgeons and two urologic surgeons.

The patient received the organs from a deceased donor, who also donated a part of the abdominal wall. The recipient had injured his genitals after an explosive went off while he was posted in Afghanistan. Dr W.P Andrew Lee, professor and director of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the John Hopkin University School of Medicine told the media that are hopeful the transplant will help restore the patient’s urinary and sexual functions, which were impaired after the blast.

However, although the patient received the scrotum, the testicles, which are responsible for sperm production, were not part of the transplant. The doctors who performed the surgery said that it was a conscious decision on their part to exclude the testicles, since they produce sperms. This would have raised an ethical controversy, which the team wanted to avoid. The doctors believe that in the coming weeks, he will be able to regain enough sensation to achieve an erection but won’t be able to ejaculate due to the absence of testes.

The patient, who is on his way to recovery, revealed that he is hopeful of making a full recovery this time, since his last transplant in 2016 resulted in a failure. Although this is the first penis and scrotum transplant, four successful penis transplants have been successfully achieved in the past.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2018 02:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).