First human eye transplant performed on American man

The world’s first-ever human eye transplant has been performed on an American man, following previous successful facial transplants. The medical advancement is significant, although it remains uncertain whether the recipient will regain sight in his newly transplanted left eye.

During work, a high-voltage electrical accident severely damaged the face and one eye of 46 year old Aaron James from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although his right eye remained functional, surgeons at NYU Langone Health hoped that replacing his lost left eye would enhance the appearance of his new face, as the new eye would support the previously transplanted eyelids and eye socket.

The medical team at NYU recently announced that James is recovering well from two transplants performed last May, and the donated eye is of impressively high quality. James reported feeling well despite not being able to move or blink his eye yet, but he can already feel some sensation. He hopes doctors will be able to apply learnings from his surgery to future patients.

Today, corneal transplants – the transparent tissue at the front of the eye is a routine treatment for some types of vision loss. However, transplanting a whole eye, including the eyeball, eye-feeding blood vessels, and nerves that need to connect to the brain, remains a significant challenge in treating blindness.

Regardless of future outcomes, James’ surgery has given scientists unprecedented insight into how a human eye attempts to heal itself, said Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, Head of Cosmetic Surgery at NYU and leader of the surgery.

“We’re not saying we can restore the patient’s vision, but we have taken one step closer.”

Expert fears

Some experts feared that the transplanted eye would rapidly shrink like a raisin, but when Dr Rodriguez checked James’ left eyelid last month, the donated brown eye looked full and fluid-filled, similar to his blue eye. There were no signs of rejection, and the blood in the transplanted eye was flowing well.

Dr Jeffrey Goldberg, Head of Ophthalmology at Stanford University, who has long studied eye transplants, called the surgery exciting but noted the hurdle of how to regrow eye nerves, even though animal studies have made great progress. He praised the NYU medical team’s bravery in aiming to repair eye nerves and hopes that this transplant will stimulate more research in this area.

Face transplants are still relatively rare and risky, with James being the 19th case in the United States and the fifth case handled by Dr Rodriguez. The inclusion of the eye added another layer of complexity and challenge.

However, James believes that nothing could be worse than having a donated eye that doesn’t work. Doctors will continue to monitor the development of his newly transplanted eye daily, reported KhaoSod.