Health Highlights: May 16, 2016

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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

First U.S. Penis Transplant Patient Doing Well

The man who underwent the first penis transplant in the United States a week ago says he feels well and has not had much pain.

Thomas Manning, 64, underwent the 15-hour transplant surgery on May 8 and 9 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His penis was removed because of cancer. The new penis came from a deceased donor, The New York Times reported.

If all goes as planned, the bank courier from Halifax, Mass. should be able to urinate normally within a few weeks and regain sexual function in weeks or months, according to transplant team leader Dr. Curtis Cetrulo, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Cetrulo said. “It’s uncharted waters for us.”

The transplant is experimental and part of a research program to improve treatment of combat veterans with severe pelvic injuries, as well as accident victims and cancer patients, The Times reported.

Manning said he wanted to speak out publicly about his transplant in order to reduce the shame and stigma associated with genital cancers and injuries, and to show other men there is hope of regaining normal anatomy.

He did say he was not quite ready to take a close look at his transplant, The Times reported.

Another man whose penis was destroyed by burns in a car crash will receive a transplant as soon as a matching donor becomes available, Cetrulo said.

Penis transplants are also being planned by surgeons at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Times reported.

Only two other penis transplants have been reported worldwide. There was a failed one in China in 2006 and a successful one in South Africa in 2014, and the recipient later fathered a child.

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