World’s first whole-eye, partial-face transplant patient returns to daily life

Editor's Note

Aaron James says he’s “pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal things” a year after undergoing the world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant at NYU Langone Health, according to a September 9 report from the academic medical center. The transplant restored essential facial functions, and he reports fewer stares from strangers and the ability to enjoy simple pleasures like smelling and eating solid food.

According to the article, a surgical team at the center performed the 21-hour procedure in May 2023 after James, a 46-year-old military veteran, survived a high-voltage electrical accident. Although the transplanted eye has not restored vision, it has maintained normal pressure and blood flow, according to a study published in JAMA.  This contrasts with previous animal studies where the eye often shrank. The eye also displayed a photoreceptor response through electroretinography, indicating that light-sensitive nerve cells survived the transplant. This development holds promise for future research into restoring sight through whole-eye transplants.

The procedure involved over 140 medical professionals and innovative techniques such as injecting stem cells into the optic nerve to promote nerve regeneration, NYU Langone reports. While some damage to the optic nerve has caused loss of retinal tissue, the team reports no rejection episodes, attributing this success to their donor-matching and immunosuppression protocols.