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'DICKY ARM'
Dad who lost his penis to horrific blood infection becomes first man in the world to have a new one built on his arm
A DAD who lost his penis to a horrific blood infection has become the first man in the world to have a new one built on his arm.
Malcolm MacDonald, 45, was even given an extra two inches by surgeons — but a series of delays mean he has lived with it on his limb for four years.
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Malcolm, a mechanic, is desperate for his £50,000 NHS-funded appendage — which he has nicknamed “Jimmy” — to be finally transferred to where it should be.
But he can still see the funny side of having it dangling from his arm and is in awe of the medics who helped turned his life around.
He said: “Of course it is mad - having a penis on your arm.
“Not even I am used to it. But when you think about it, it’s actually amazing.
“That they can make me a new penis at all is incredible - but that they can build it on my arm is mind-blowing.
“It looks like something out of a weird sci-fi comic. But it’s my chance at a normal life.
“It’s been the first step towards being able to go to the toilet and even being intimate with someone.”
Malcolm was shocked when a long-term perineum infection developed into sepsis, turning his fingers, toes and penis black.
And he was left “completely gutted” when his manhood fell off one fateful day in 2014, though his testicles remained intact.
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Malcolm recalled: “I had struggled for years with an infection in my perineum but I had no idea what could happen.
“It spread to my fingers and toes and turned them black.
“When I saw my penis go black I was beside myself.
“It was like a horror film. I was in a complete panic.
“I knew deep down it was gone and I was going to lose it.
"Then one day it just dropped off on to the floor.
“Because I had been through the devastation of knowing I was going to lose it, I just picked it up and put it in the bin.
“I went to the hospital and they said the best they could do for me was to roll the remaining stump up like a little sausage roll. It was heartbreaking.”
For two years after losing my penis I felt a shadow of a man. My life really fell apart because I had no self-confidence.
Malcolm MacDonald
Separated dad-of-two Malcolm, of Thetford, Norfolk, then became a recluse who started boozing heavily.
He recalled: “For two years after losing my penis I felt a shadow of a man.
“My life really fell apart because I had no self-confidence.
“I drank too much. I didn’t see family and friends - I just didn’t want to have to face up to it.”
Malcolm’s GP then told him about the “penis master”, Professor David Ralph, an expert in phallus construction at London’s University College Hospital.
Prof Ralph famously created a “bionic penis” for Andrew Wardle, who was born without one.
Excited Malcolm was given a referral and recalled: “It gave me a glimmer of hope that I could go back to being a normal bloke.”
Prof Ralph explained the arm-graft procedure, and told him it would take up to two years, which Malcolm was happy with.
Bionic op list is getting longer
AN unnamed Russian was among the world’s first to have a bionic penis, built from tissue in his arm in 2005
In 2013 Edinburgh security guard Mohammad Abad, at the time a 40-year-old virgin, revealed he had a bionic penis fitted after losing his in a childhood accident.
In 2018, Andrew Wardle, from Manchester, bedded girlfriend Fedra Fabian for the first time with his bionic manhood after being born without a penis.
He had to use a hand-pump to give himself an erection.
In both the latter cases, the penis was created with tissue from their arms by Prof Ralph and his team at University College Hospital London.
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He was then delighted to get funding — as it was motivated by being able to go to the toilet properly rather than for sexual reasons.
He said: “It was all my Christmases at once. I was so emotional because it was a chance at a new start.
"I wasn’t worried about the procedure because I had seen what Prof Ralph and his team could do.
“As far as I was concerned, they were miracle workers and I was up for anything that could give me my willy back.
“Not having a penis felt awful. It’s most men’s worst fear. For me I was never worried about sex, because I already had two children.
“It was always more about my self-confidence and simple things like using the loo.”
Malcolm discussed with the surgeons what his new penis would look like, and requested another two inches.
When I saw it on my arm for the first time I was so, so proud
Malcolm MacDonald
He said: “They were happy to listen to what I wanted it to be like, which was amazing. Not many can say they have a designer penis.”
Surgeons chose the arm for building the new penis due to its skin quality and sensation.
Right-handed Malcolm then had a skin flap taken from his left arm and rolled to form a “penis”, with its own blood vessels and nerves.
Surgeons created a urethra and installed two tubes inflated with a hand-pump, allowing him to have a “mechanical” erection.
The shaft was then detached from his forearm, leaving the base, allowing it to dangle. It then could form naturally as skin and tissue.
Malcolm said: “When I saw it on my arm for the first time I was so, so proud.
“After everything I had been through it didn’t feel weird at all - it was just a part of me.
“I was like any other man, I just couldn’t leave it alone to begin with. I thought it was the best thing ever.
“I took to it so much I nicknamed it ‘Jimmy’ - that was what me and my mates called each other growing up and this penis was definitely my new mate.”
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Malcolm says he had to wear long-sleeved tops and shirts when out to hide his bizarre “bulge”. However people sometimes spotted it — so he made fun of it.
He said: “People ask me about it when they see me in the pub - and of course people make jokes.
“But I get it. It’s not every day you see a man with a penis on his arm. Of course I see the funny side - I have to. I don’t have any other option.
"If I couldn’t laugh at the willy on my arm I’d be finished.
“When people see the bulge in my sleeve I say it’s my dictaphone. That might seem a bit weird - but nowhere near as weird as having a penis on your arm.”
After two years, as the doctors had said, it was finally ready to be “hung” in 2018.
People ask me about it when they see me in the pub - and of course people make jokes.
Malcolm MacDonald
But he was unwell at the time of the operation and it was postponed.
He then missed a string of appointments due to transport and scheduling mix-ups, and a staff shortage last December led to another 11th-hour postponement.
The op was due to go ahead again in April, but got the axe when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
He said: “The delays have been hard to deal with. For one reason and another the final operation has never happened.
“There have been scheduling mix-ups and transport issues getting me to London. I was in my surgical gowns once about to go into the theatre when they said there was a shortage of medical staff.
“Then they cancelled again because of the coronavirus. It feels like I’m cursed sometimes.”
Malcolm hopes to have it finally grafted properly between his legs by the end of the year.
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He said: “It really feels like it is time to get it off. I can’t run because it waggles about. I can’t go swimming or wear a short-sleeve shirt.
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"I can’t lie, having a penis on your arm for four years is a really strange thing to live with.
“But I am determined this penis will be ultimately used for what it was built for.”
The arm offers better sensation
Prof David Raplh
WHAT makes Mr MacDonald’s case unusual is that the penis has been left on the arm for such a long period of time.
A skin flap is taken from the arm and rolled up to form a penis with its own blood vessels and nerves.
The reason we use the arm is because it has better skin quality and more sensation.
We then divide the blood vessels and nerves from the arm and transplant to the penile area. Usually we graft it on to the arm then attach it into the groin area in one procedure.
The penis on Mr MacDonald’s arm is a “living breathing” part of his body and the wait will not affect the ability for it to be put in place.
When it is fitted the patient will be able to pass water and have sexual intercourse once a penile implant is fitted.
Professor David Ralph is a consultant urologist at University College Hospital in central London.
A UCHL spokeswoman said: “We understand this is a distressing situation for Mr MacDonald. We will try to rearrange his surgery as soon we are able now that services are gradually returning closer to normal following lockdown.
“Unfortunately, there were delays before lockdown because Mr MacDonald missed or cancelled some appointments. We offered him four dates for surgery, one of which we had to postpone by a week but the other occasions he cancelled or did not attend.
“Mr MacDonald told us he had some issues with patient transport. This transport, however, was not oranised by UCLH. We understand this must have been frustrating for him.”
THE SUN SAYS
TRY to imagine the full horror of what Malcolm MacDonald suffered with his manhood. It’s hard.
But thanks to the wonders of modern medical science he now has a bigger replacement on his arm.
Once in despair, now he’s cock-a-hoop.
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