An American army veteran who lost his legs and genitals in a roadside bomb explosion says he "feels normal again", after undergoing the first full penis and scrotum transplant.

The man suffered a devastating injury several years ago from an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan.

He underwent the landmark 14-hour procedure at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland in March last year.

This repaired his abdominal wall, gave him a new scrotum and attached a donor penis.

It involved a team of nine plastic surgeons and two urological surgeons.

Doctors chose not to give the patient testicles after consulting with bioethicists.

They determined that the sperm-generating tissue would have the potential for having children with genetic material from the donor.

The team provided an update on his condition in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealing how the former soldier had returned to school and was able to live independently.

As well as an almost complete return of sexual capabilities, full urinary function has also been restored.

Dr Rick Redett, a professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the university, told NBC News that the patient had told him it was "the first time he's felt normal in a long time".

He added: "He's doing very well. The graft has taken nicely. Rejection hasn't been much of an issue, and he has very good return of function."

While a handful of successful penis transplants have been reported in recent years, this was the first to reconstruct the scrotum as well - making it far more complex and expensive than previous procedures.

According to a previous study in the Journal of Urology, 1,367 male soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq suffered penis injuries between 2001 and 2013.

There have also been operations to help men who have lost their penis by other means, but less than half a dozen have been reported worldwide.

Among them, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston carried out the surgery in 2016 to help a 64-year-old man who had lost his penis to cancer.

Additional reporting: IRN