Surgeons in China who said they performed the first successful penis transplant removed the organ because the recipient and his wife suffered severe psychological problems.

Dr. Wellie Hu and other surgeons at Guangzhou General Hospital attached the donated organ to a 44-year-old man during a 15-hour operation.

His penis had been damaged in a serious accident that left him unable to have intercourse or urinate normally.

The organ had been donated by the parents of a 22-year-old brain-dead man.

Doctors said the surgery was successful, but they removed the penis two weeks later.

Hu said in an report, "Because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off."

He added, "This is the first reported case of penile transplantation in a human."

Ten days after the operation, the man was able to urinate properly. Doctors say there were no signs the 4-inch penis was being rejected by the man's body.

Hu said, "The patient finally decided to give up the treatment because of the wife's psychological rejection, as well as the swollen shape of the transplanted penis."