World's First Successful Penis, Scrotum Transplant Performed on a US Soldier

World's first ever complete transplant of a penis and scrotum has successfully been carried out on an American soldier.

The delicate procedure was performed by a team of surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, after the military man  was wounded by a bomb in Afghanistan.

The team said it used a penis, scrotum and partial abdominal wall transplanted from a deceased donor and are confident that the soldier will regain sexual function, which is impossible with penis reconstructions.

The 14-hour operation was performed by 11 surgeons on March 26th. The medics said the donor's testicles were not transplanted, due to ethical considerations.

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

Dr Lee called genitalia wounds an "unspoken injury of war".

"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," he said.

"When I first woke up, I felt finally more normal like finally I'm okay now,"The soldier, who requested not to be named, said in a statement released by the university.

His injury resulted after he stepped on a hidden bomb in Afghanistan and experts said they expect he will be fully recovered between six to 12 months.

"It is our hope that such a life enhancing transplant will allow him to regain urinary and sexual function and lead a more normal life.It is also our goal to offer the procedure in the future to other suitable patients,"Dr Rick Redett, clinical director of the genitourinary transplant programme said.