Doctors in Vietnam have successfully carried out the country’s first penis transplant using an organ from a brain-dead donor.

The recipient, a 43-year-old man, had undergone a partial penectomy four years ago at Hanoi’s Viet Duc Friendship Hospital.

After reviewing his medical condition, immune compatibility, psychological health, and ethical considerations, a team of specialists concluded that he was a suitable candidate for the transplant.

Penectomy is a surgical procedure involving “the partial or complete removal of the penis”, according to Yale Medicine. “It is typically performed as a treatment for penile cancer or as a part of gender-affirming surgery for transgender individuals.”

Associate professor, Dr Nguyen Quang, director of the hospital’s Andrology Centre, said the operation involved rebuilding key structures of the penis while reconnecting tiny blood vessels and nerves through microsurgery.

“In this transplant procedure, we reconstructed the anatomical structures of the penis, including the urethra, corpus spongiosum and corpora cavernosa, while simultaneously performing microsurgical anastomosis of minute arteries, veins and nerves.”

He added: “The close integration of reconstructive and microsurgical techniques throughout the operation demanded exceptional precision to ensure the viability of the graft and facilitate functional recovery.”

Doctors said the patient is recovering well.

Earlier, after the penectomy four years earlier, doctors said while his treatment was successful and he was able to urinate normally, only a very short portion of the penis remained. Doctors said this left him psychologically distressed, affecting both his quality of life and mental wellbeing.

After the surgery, the transplanted organ is healing as expected, no early complications have been detected, and he is responding well to anti-rejection medication.

However, they said it will take time to determine whether sensation, erectile function and long-term urinary function fully recover, while doctors continue monitoring for signs of organ rejection.

Hospital director, Dr Duong Duc Hung, called the surgery “the first penile transplant in Vietnam from a brain-dead donor” and said the team spent months preparing, studying international experience and coordinating experts across several specialities before carrying out the procedure.

According to international medical literature, only five successful penile transplants had been reported worldwide before this case, making Vietnam’s operation one of the rarest reconstructive transplant procedures ever performed.