US conducts world’s first human eye transplant

US surgeons have successfully performed the world’s first transplant of an entire human eye although the doctors caution that it remains unknown if the patient, Aaron James, will ever be able to see with his new left eye.

Almost all of James’ face, including his left eye, was destroyed in an accident involving high-voltage power lines in June 2021.

The 46-year-old from Hot Springs, Arkansas, subsequently underwent a dual face and eye transplant in May, from which his doctors say he is recovering well noting that his new eye looks “remarkably healthy”.

“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,” James said as doctors examined his progress recently.

The surgeons at NYU Langone Health had hoped that replacing James’ missing eye would yield better cosmetic results from a partial face transplant, by supporting a new eye socket and lid.

Transplants of the cornea, the clear tissue in front of the eye, are commonly performed to treat certain types of vision loss. But transplanting the whole eye, the eyeball, its blood supply, and the critical optic nerve that connects to the brain is a much more experimental procedure.

“We’re not claiming that we are going to restore sight,” Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, the plastic surgery chief, who led the transplant, said

“But there’s no doubt in my mind we are one step closer,” he added.

Credit: Euronews