Luis Canelos (center) is surrounded by doctors at a press conference about his new penis. (Photo by IKF Wonderfund)
Doctors in South Florida are preparing for an absurdly complex operation that will create a Frankenstein penis for a teen who lost his original one in a shotgun accident.
Peruvian 17-year-old Luis Canelos has lived without a member since childhood, but doctors will build him one from various spare parts: skin from Canelos’ forearm, and a portion of the fibula of a cadaver. Yep — Canelos will have a dead guy’s leg bone in his new penis.
The surgery will require two medical teams and span 24 hours, and it goes without saying that it’s kind of a big deal, reports the Miami Herald:
“I cannot overemphasize how complex the operation is,” said Dr. Rafael Gosalbez, a pediatric urologist at Miami Children’s Hospital.
Part of Canelos’ right testicle survived the shotgun accident, so he will be able to father children someday with his new leg-boned penis.
“This is not only about making him physically whole, it’s about giving him back human dignity, self-esteem, a future and maybe even prevent suicide,” said María Luisa Chea, executive director of International Kids Fund Wonderfund.