World’s First Eye Transplant
AP PHOTO/JOSEPH. B. FREDERICK
In May 2023, surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed a 21-hour operation that consisted of a partial face transplant and an eye transplant. The recipient, 46-year-old Aaron James was badly injured in a workplace accident and had suffered a massive electric shock when his face accidentally touched a live wire. James was lucky to survive, but lost his left eye, much of his face, and part of his left arm.
The NYU surgeon who led this procedure, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, said, “There’s really been no [previous] attempts [of this procedure], whatsoever, as a human clinical trial. It’s uncharted territory.”
To encourage healing the connection of the new eye, the surgeons harvested stem cells from James’ bone marrow and injected them into the optic nerve during the transplant, hoping they would replace damaged cells and protect the nerve. Since the procedure, the new eye has shown remarkable signs of health, with direct blood flow to the retina and no sign of rejection.
The accomplishment was hailed a breakthrough, although James has not yet regained sight through the transplanted eye. Whether or not he will be able to regain sight is not clear, but “The mere fact that we transplanted an eye is a huge step forward, something that for centuries has been thought about, but it's never been performed,” said Dr. Rodriguez.
“If some form of vision restoration occurred, it would be wonderful, but... the goal was for us to perform the technical operation,” and have the eyeball survive, Rodriguez added.
And as for James, “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.”
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