Feel Whole Again

The cost of a prosthetic limb can reach as much as $50,000.00. There have been thousands of men and women who the military has provided them for after injury. When compared to the billions spent each year on weaponry, the money to repair a man's genitals and make him feel "whole" again is, as Faithful Reader Jean says, "a drop in the bucket."

Faithful Reader maddie made an observation about the unintended consequences - of sorts - in saying men could have transplants to get a larger cock. LOL. Yep. We guys are obsessed with how big or small our cocks are.

But, it's not all as ridiculous as you may think. The length of the penis is important, not only for pleasure but in the grand scheme of things as well. In order to fertilize, sperm must go through quite an obstacle course. Getting to the target is one hell of a chore - particularly if the distance is made greater by a small penis, regardless of the velocity of ejaculation.

Consider men diagnosed with Micro Penis - defined in the medical community as achieving an erect length of two inches (2") or less. Some men cannot even reach that goal. Those guys would likely need to use In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to make babies because the cock can't penetrate far enough to deliver the load.

It can also be psychologically devastating.

Especially considering there isn't much we can do about it.
So, our obsession with size is not really such a mystery after all. It's biologically ingrained. It's also why men are always checking out the other guys' cocks; we want to know if we stand a better chance of planting our seeds than the other guys in the locker rooms and showers.

 Or the dude standing next to us at the urinal.

Near Normal

Some of us lose body parts in a variety of ways to a variety of reasons. As reported in the Washington Post, "more than 1,300 U.S. soldiers suffered genital injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2013. For many, the wounds take a brutal psychological toll."

The loss of a functioning cock can be absolutely devastating. Men take Erectile Dysfunction quite hard, but imagine losing it, plus your balls, to an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). It's been reported that many soldiers involved in these explosions will ask the medics, "What a bout my dick? Is my dick still there?" Some, when told no, have asked to be allowed to die. A man's cock is that important to him, to his self-image as a male.

In 2016, I posted about the first successful penile transplant in U.S. for a man who had lost his penis to cancer. Now, first reported on November 7, the first penis, scrotum, and abdominal wall transplant has been successful

The transplant was (again) done by a team of surgeons at Johns Hopkins during a 14-hour surgery. The success of this has been better than expected because, approximately 18 months after the surgery, doctors report the patient has gained full function.

“He has near-normal erections and the ability to achieve orgasm,” doctors wrote this week, adding that the patient can also urinate standing up and without straining, “with the urine discharged in a strong stream.”

This is reason to celebrate. While insurance companies will refuse to pay the $300 - 400,000 cost of transplant, the VA should. War has taken the single most precious thing on a man's body. If that can be "fixed" the country should be willing to do so.

More Like Him

Thomas Manning in his room at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, on May 14, five days after the 15-hour operation. CreditKayana Szymczak for The New York Times

That is a man to look up to. NY Times science writer, Denise Grady, was surprised that any man would openly discuss this. After all, she'd been seeking out patients on the waiting list who would and had been repeatedly turned down. She even offered anonymity; no names, no pictures, just their words. The responses were always, "no."

Then she approached Noah Brown, a public affairs officer for Mass General, and asked if the recipient would talk. Surprisingly, the answer was a resounding "yes." Not only was he willing to talk, he was willing to talk to a woman.

"Something that infuriated him, he said, were the ridiculous taboos around talking about sex and genitals in this country. 'How do people think we all got here?' he asked. 'Go ahead, ask me questions, ask me whatever you want.' It was almost a dare." Grady reported in her piece. (NY TIMES) [click the link for full article]

Much in the same way that Lance Armstrong, now disgraced and stripped of his record-breaking Tour de France wins, boldly discussed his Testicular Cancer, and as a result is probably responsible for saving countless lives, Manning is speaking out. Loudly and proudly.

We need more people like him. Particularly in the U.S. where shame, much of it brought on by religious zealots, permeates our society. Men (and women) pros or amateurs alike) who willingly pose for "pornographic" photos or perform for sexually explicit films, whether they realize it or not, are making a bold point. People who aren't afraid to be seen nude in public are making a statement: We are endowed with what nature gave us

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these things function as nature intended.

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There's nothing lewd, disgusting, or offensive about that.
Thank you to Jean for bringing this follow-up article to us!

Less Than a Man

Well, they've done it! Two doctors at Mass General Hospital in Boston have managed, in a 15-hour surgery, to transplant a penis to Thomas Manning. Bravo to these doctors! They get it.

"Mr. Manning welcomed questions and said he wanted to speak out publicly to help dispel the shame and stigma associated with genital cancers and injuries, and to let other men know there was hope of having normal anatomy restored.

Veterans are a major focus of transplant programs in the United States because suicide rates are exceptionally high in soldiers with severe damage to the genitals and urinary tract, Dr. Cetrulo said. “They’re 18- to 20-year-old guys, and they feel they have no hope of intimacy or a sexual life,” he said. “They can’t even go to the bathroom standing up.”

Given the psychological toll, he said, a penis transplant can be lifesaving.

From 2001 to 2013, 1,367 men [bold added] in the military suffered so-called genitourinary injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense Trauma Registry. Nearly all were under 35 and had been hurt by homemade bombs, commonly called improvised explosive devices, or I.E.D.s. Some lost part or all of their penises." - NY Times (click the link for the entire article)

It was a workplace accident that brought Manning to the emergency room where doctors discovered a very aggressive and (potentially) fatal penile cancer. Penile cancer is considered rare, but approx. 2030 new cases and 340 deaths are expected in the U.S. this year alone.

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Manning added that some close friends urged him to keep the surgery a secret. He refused, explaining he considered it lying but, moreover, he had nothing to be ashamed about. Mr. Manning released a statement, read by one of the surgeons, which said that "men judge their masculinity by their bodies."
and he said he "wanted to feel whole again."

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That is the very crux of it, the bottom line. Just as women don't feel right after losing a breast, men feel less than a man without a cock. Proof is in the soldiers who commit suicide because they'd rather die than go through life without one.

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Doctors are hopeful that, with time, normal urinary

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and sexual function will be restored.

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Thank you, Jean, for sending the link to the article.