For the very first time, a complete eye transplant has just taken place on a patient. American surgeons announced this Thursday, November 10, 2023, that they had carried out this extraordinary operation which lasted approximately 21 hours.
New major advance in the world of reconstructive surgery and transplants. This Thursday, November 10, the team from New York University Hospital NYU Langone Health announced in a press release, having performed the very first eye transplant on a patient. This patient is Aaron James, a 46-year-old American who, in 2021, was the victim of a work accident. His face having accidentally touched a power line, the man found himself disfigured and found with the face of a real “monster”, without eyes and without a mouth.
Last May, he then underwent this famous transplant of the left eye and its orbit but we note that the surgeons also transplanted his nose, lips and other facial tissues taken from a donor. An intervention which lasted almost 21 hours without interruption.
A new big step for eye surgery
“We have taken a significant step forward and paved the way for the next chapter to restore the vision” Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the operation, said in a statement. Five months after the operation, Aaron James has not yet regained his sight, but his eye continues to show signs of very good health, including blood flow to the retina..
A procedure that garners the respect and admiration of other surgeons across the country. “This is a huge breakthrough. So many people doubted that such a transplant would be possible in humans” exclaimed surgeon Kia Washington, who has been working on this problem for 10 years at the University of Colorado. “It’s a remarkable achievement” said Daniel Pelaez, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami.
For his part, patient Aaron James is also happier than ever. “I have no words to thank the donor and his family, who gave me a second chance at life during a difficult time for them. Our hope is that my story can serve as an inspiration to people affected by serious injuries to the face and eyes” he said in a statement.
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In the past, whole eye transplants had already been performed on small animals, whose vision was at least partially restored in some cases, explained surgeon Kia Washington. But succeeding in achieving this in humans meant combining “many different methods”, according to her. It remains to be seen whether it will one day be possible to give sight to a person blind from birth thanks to a transplant…