Doctors from Stellenbosch University and the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa are reported to have performed the world's first successful penis transplant.

A team of Chinese doctors had first attempted to transplant a penis in 2006, but had been forced to reverse the procedure after the patient started suffering from psychological problems. In the latest surgery, the South African doctors transplanted a penis from a donor who had died, to a penis amputee who had lost his organ three years ago after complications resulting from circumcision. The recipient had been left with a stump of less than 1.5cm, making it impossible for him to stand up and urinate, or have sexual intercourse.

The practice of circumcision is observed as a rite of passage for young South African boys entering manhood. However, it is estimated that about 250 penile amputations have to be performed each year, while many more suffer terrible disfigurements, on account of unskilled or unscrupulous practitioners, unsterilized instruments and infection. As a result, there are a number of men in Africa who require a penis transplant after losing their organ to amputation due to botched circumcision procedures.

For the pioneering surgery, the South African doctors used similar techniques developed for the world's first facial transplant, including the same type of microscopic surgery to connect small blood vessels and nerves, as well as performing a similar psychological evaluation of the patient. According to the doctors, after the nine-hour procedure was carried out in December, the 21-year-old patient recovered much faster than the anticipated two-year recovery period and has even regained all functions of the transplanted organ. The doctors claim that the patient is already sexually active and is capable of fathering his own children in the future.

Prof Frank Graewe, head of the Division of Plastic Reconstructive Surgery at Stellenbosch University, hailed the operation as "a enormous breakthrough" that could also help men suffering from penile cancer and serious erectile dysfunction caused by side effects of medications. However, the doctors believe that they could face resistance from families of donors, who might not allow surgeons to harvest this particular type of organ.