Disfigured after a work accident, Aaron James was able to benefit from an eye transplant that worked beyond all expectations.
- While working as a lineman in June 2021, Aaron James received a high-voltage electric shock that tore off the left side of his face.
- Dissatisfied with his first facial reconstruction, he turned to a very advanced technique which aims at the total transplantation of the facial elements.
- This allowed him to benefit from an eye transplant, which, a year later, began to function partially.
It’s a first in the world of transplants. One year after receiving an eye from a compatible donor, a man saw his new retina react to light.
Known as Aaron James, the individual in question is a 46-year-old military veteran from Arkansas. While working as a lineman in June 2021, he received a high-voltage electric shock that caused him to lose his left eye, left eyelid, nose, lips, and much of his facial tissue.
A facial reconstruction “classic” was then performed, preceded by the removal of the eyeball which was too badly damaged to be saved and which was causing the patient pain.
Eye transplant: the operation was performed in May 2023
Although James subsequently recovered well from all of these surgeries, he continued to experience significant difficulties due to the scarring and damage to his nasal passages. In an attempt to improve his condition, he eventually turned to a New York team that specializes in vascularized composite allografts (VCAs), a highly advanced technique that aims to transplant the entire facial structure.
Following his request, the surgical team considered James’ case suitable for an eye transplant as well as a partial face transplant, but they also made it clear to him that this was an experimental procedure. In particular, it was understood with him that there was a risk of damaging the functional right eye and the usual constraints associated with a transplant (such as the need to take immunosuppressants for life, editor’s note).
Despite all these risks and after weighing the pros and cons, James finally decided to go under the knife again. The operation was performed in May 2023 following the identification of a compatible donor.
Transplant: “The progress we have seen with the eye is exceptional”
In a first report five months later, transplant surgeon Bruce E. Gelb said: “The progress we’ve seen with the eye is exceptional, especially considering that we have a viable cornea combined with a retina with significant blood flow.”
Now, more than a year after the operation, the team has been able to conduct further, more extensive testing. The first piece of good news is that the transplanted tissue has continued to survive and James has not suffered immune rejection. From a cosmetic standpoint, the results of the transplant are also much better than those of the initial reconstruction, and James said his quality of life has improved.
As for eye function, doctors report that James still does not see out of the left side (which was expected). However, they indicate that the “Ophthalmological evaluations showed several potentially positive results.” In fact, the eye pressure is within the normal range, the blood supply continues to be good, and some of the retinal structure has been preserved. In addition, the retina has been shown to respond to light.
“Many experts didn’t think we would get to this point, but we managed to transplant and maintain an eye without immune rejection,” said Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez in a press release. “The next challenge is to understand how to restore sight,” he concludes.
The detailed report in this article was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.