Science is seriously fruitful, The 21st century, guys: Nothing like it.
The girlfriend of the guy who received the world’s first-ever successful penis transplant is reportedly now pregnant with his baby, according to CNN. The man’s doctor, Andre van der Merwe, head of Stellenbosch University’s division of urology in Cape Town, South Africa, told the publication that his patient says the baby is about four months along.
The man who received the new penis, who’s staying anonymous for ethical reasons, had to have his old one amputated following severe complications from a traditional circumcision.
Surgeons performed the revolutionary surgery—which incorporated some of the techniques originally generated for the first face transplant—as part of a pilot study in South Africa last December. “We used the same type of microscopic surgery to connect small blood vessels and nerves, and the psychological evaluation of patients was also similar,” Van der Merwe said in a press release. He also said that tracking down a penis donor was a big challenge.
This was only the second time surgeons had tried this type of surgery—in 2006, a patient in China received a penis transplant but had to have it removed because of “a severe psychological problem,” according to CNN.
Nine more guys are going to receive penis transplants as part of this study. If all goes as planned, the procedure might eventually work for men who have lost their penises from penile cancer or even as a final resort for severe erectile dysfunction due to medication side effects, according to the March press release.
This first successful transplant was only announced this past March after doctors were able to monitor the patient’s recovery. At that time, Van der Merwe had said in the press release that the original goal was for the patient to become fully functional within two years, and they were pumped (ha) that his urinary and reproductive functions were in working order so quickly.