A US team of surgeons says they have achieved the world’s first complete eye transplant. It is still unclear whether the patient will ever be able to see with the donated eye, as the NYU Langone Health medical center announced.
The direct blood flow to the retina, the area that receives light and thus sends images to the brain, is a good sign. In general, the eye has developed well since the operation in May 2023.
The 46-year-old patient Aaron James lost his entire left eye and parts of his face due to an electric shock while working on a high-voltage line, the center also announced.
The 21-hour procedure was reportedly carried out by more than 140 surgeons, nurses and other health professionals led by plastic surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez. The transplant was possible because when James’ left eye was removed, the optic nerve was severed as close to the eyeball as possible, as Rodriguez explained. The longer the nerve length, the greater the likelihood of a future transplant, NYU Langone Health said.
The team around surgeon Rodriguez and the James family jointly decided to proceed with a full eye transplant in combination with the already planned face transplant, it said. “Considering that Aaron needed a face transplant (…), the risk versus benefit of the eye transplant was very small,” Rodriguez said. Even if James cannot see again, the procedure is a remarkable success from a cosmetic standpoint.
