Jaipur: Surgery gives man fully functional penis in 6 hours

A unique case of penile reconstruction surgery of cancer patient was successfully conducted at a city-based cancer hospital where team of doctors removed the lump and reconstructed the penis with the urinary function. As per doctors’ claim no such case has been reported so far in the Indian medical journals.

“In an investigation of Rajesh Kumar (name changed), a 64-year-old from Jodhpur, we found that cancerous lump has got spread in his penis. In such situation, we need to remove the lump with immediate reconstruction,”  Dr. Umesh Bansal, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital & Research Centre said. 

“We took skin and blood vessels from patient’s thigh to flap and reconstitute penis with the urinary function.”

The six-hour surgery was accompanied by the team of cancer surgeon Dr. Prashant Sharma, plastic surgeon Dr. Saurabh Rawat and anesthesiologist, Dr. Pushplata Gupta.

As per doctors, generally, penile reconstruction surgeries are performed at different stages in men, in which the most challenging part is to reconstruct the urinary function. But in the treatment of cancer patients, there is a requirement to perform chemo and radiation therapy after surgery, which has to start within five to six weeks of surgery.

“It was, due to this reason that it became necessary for this patient to go with the immediate complete penile reconstruction and despite various complications and challenges, we operated him successfully. This technique has not only saved patient’s time and money but also cure his mental stress,” said Dr Bansal.

Dr. Bansal said that till date no such case of immediate complete penile reconstruction of the cancer patient has been reported in any Indian medical journals.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Nidhi Patni added that “the number of the cancer patient is increasing rapidly. In the country, 1.15 crore new cancer patients are registered and 78 lakh dying every year. The cancer patients are increasing rapidly in Rajasthan.”