Experimental allogenic penile transplantation

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of allogenic penile transplantation (PTx) for creating a source of viable penile tissue for use in penile reconstruction.

The entire penis from an adult Brown-Norway rat was transplanted into a pouch created in the omentum of an adult Lewis rat (fully allogenic PTx, n = 23). Recipients were divided into 2 groups according to immunosuppressant (FK506) usage: in the FK+ group, FK506 (0.6 mg/kg/d) was administered intraperitoneally until a predetermined day (day 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, or 21) after PTx, and then the grafts were harvested. No FK506 was used in the FK- group. Syngeneic PTx (n = 8) patients were used as controls. All grafts were stained with H&E for histologic examination.

At laparotomy, each successfully transplanted penis appeared as a cylindrical mass in the omentum. Grafts could be mobilized to the genital area because of a long omental pedicle. Graft survival in the control and FK+ groups was 100%. Rejection was minimal to moderate in FK+ grafts harvested on days 3 and 5 after PTx and minimal or absent in FK+ grafts harvested on days 7, 10, 14, and 21. Penile structure on H&E staining was normal in FK+ and control specimens. Rejection with massive cellular infiltration was observed in all FK- grafts.

FK506 successfully prevented rejection in allogenic PTx, and the authors' technique has potential for creating viable penile tissue that could be used as an option for penile reconstruction.