New York surgeons performed the world's first human eye transplant, an extraordinary addition to a face transplant last May to Aaron James in New York Langone Health.
James suffered from an accident with high-voltage power lines that destroyed most of his face and one eye, but his right eye still works.
NYU Surgeons Performs World's First Human Eye Transplant
EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Eye Bank Coordinator, Christopher Mwangala performs a cornea harvesting procedure on a deceased person at M.P. Shah Hospital morgue in Nairobi on August 10, 2023. Cultural and religious beliefs prevent many people from donating their organs in Kenya, including their corneas. The lack of donations is creating a backlog for cornea surgeries in many hospitals, with waiting lists reaching over 1000 people. Lions EyeSight First Hospital has a special unit on call 24/7 to harvest corneas from the few people willing to donate them after they die.
NYU Langone Health replaced the missing left eye of James, which resulted in a better cosmetic outcome for his new face by supporting the transplanted eye socket and lid.
On Thursday, the surgeons announced that James was recovering well from the eye transplant, and the donated eye seemed healthy.
According to The Guardian, transplants of the cornea, a tissue in front of the eye, treat types of vision loss. The transplant of the entire human eye was recognized as a cure for blindness, in which its blood supply and the critical optic nerve must connect to the brain.
James's surgery helped the scientists observe an unprecedented window into how the human eye tries to heal.
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, NYU's plastic surgery chief, who performed the transplant, said, "We're not claiming that we are going to restore sight." But he also added that there was no doubt that they were one step closer to achieving a successful eye transplant.
Some specialists shared they fear the eye would immediately shrink like a raisin. However, Dr. Rodriguez said that James's left eyelid did not reject the donated hazel-colored vision and observed a good blood flow, which made the eye plump and full of fluid like his blue eye.
The researchers continued observing James's brain and found puzzling signals from that all-important but injured optic nerve. One scientist who has long studied eye transplants said the procedure was exciting as the long-awaited surgery became a reality.
Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg, chair of ophthalmology at California's Stanford University, said the transplant was an amazing validation as someone experimenting on animal eyes. Goldberg added that the only obstacle to overcome was regrowing the optic nerve, but animal studies were progressing.
Furthermore, he praised the NYU 's team's boldness in even aiming for optic nerve repair. He hoped that there would be further research on the transplant.
James's Recovery After Historic Eye Transplant
Recently, the doctors examined his progress, and James said, "It feels good. I still don't have any movement in it yet. My eyelid, I can't blink yet. But I'm getting sensation now."
According to the Times of India, he said that sometimes someone has first to experience to learn something from it that would help the next person.
James recovered through a physical therapy session until he was strong enough to assist his daughter Allie to a high school homecoming ceremony, wearing his face mask and eye patch.
His accident occurred in June 2021 while working for a power line company when he was shocked by a live wire. He almost died and lost his left arm, which required a prosthetic.
Multiple reconstructive surgeries could not repair extensive facial injuries, including his missing nose and lips. He also required breathing and feeding tubes and longed to smell, taste, and eat solid food again.
Face transplants remain rare and risky. James was the 19th person to perform a face transplant in the US.
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