HispanicBusiness

A 17-year-old from Peru who lost most of his genitals in a gun accident is in Miami for an operation that could allow him to live normally and father children.

Luis Canelos is expected to undergo phalloplasty in August, The Miami Herald reported. Doctors at Holtz Children's Hospital at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center hope to reconstruct his penis and restore its function.

"I want to recover my body, be young again," Luis said.

Luis and his father, Roger, are staying in a Ronald McDonald House near the hospital and the surgery, which could cost $50,000, is being paid for by a charity, International Kids Wonderfund.

The family lives in a remote village in Peru. Roger Canelos said ambulance crews travel there by riverboat.

For Luis, the trip to Miami is his first away from home, the Herald reported.

"I never thought I could get this far," he said.