New York doctors announced on November 9, 2023 that they had succeeded in carrying out the world’s first transplant of a complete eye.
- The first full eye transplant was successfully carried out, he was just over 5 months old.
- If the patient has not regained his sight, the results of the operation are promising.
- To promote the transplant and the connection of the eye with the brain, doctors injected stem cells from the donor spinal cord into the patient’s optic nerve.
This is a world first. Doctors at the university hospital NYU Langone Health transplanted a complete eye to a man whose face was severely damaged in a work accident in 2021. If more than five months after the operation, the patient has not regained his sight, this eye transplant offers new hope to people who have lost their sight.
Complete eye transplant: a 21 hour surgery
Patient Aaron James lost his left eye and part of his face after being hit by a high-voltage power line. During his 21-hour transplant, he received a complete eye, but also the donor’s eye socket, nose, lips and other facial tissue.
At the conference, held more than five months after this operation, doctors revealed that the patient’s eye is in “very good health”. Blood flow is ensured to the retina. For Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the procedure, even though the patient has not regained eye mobility or sight, these results are already astonishing. “There are millions of people who have lost their sight, and we’re not saying we’re going to solve this today. But we are undoubtedly a little closer.”he explained during the conference.
Vision : will he be able to see again?
After this world premiere, the question everyone is asking is: Aaron James, will he ever be able to see again? For the person concerned, the main thing does not necessarily lie there. “Whether I can see it or not, it’s like that. You have to start somewhere, and I hope this will initiate something that we can improve for the next patient“he confided during the press conference.
Vaidehi Dedaniaretina specialist at NYU Langone Healthfor his part was confident: “In medicine, you never like to say never. We will continue to follow it and see how things are evolving. But we have a lot of hope.” Indeed, among the encouraging points, surgeons note that a large part of the retina is preserved, and that it seems capable of generating a signal.
Now, Aaron James has returned to live with his wife and daughter in Arkansas and has monthly monitoring.
Complete eye transplant: a very complicated operation
Although eye transplant attempts have already been successful in animals, it is still a very complex procedure to carry out. Indeed, we must succeed in reestablishing the connections between the organ and the brain via the optic nerve. To achieve this result with Aaron James, doctors tried to inject stem cells from the donor spinal cord into the patient’s optic nerve. The objective is to improve its regeneration, and the chances of success.
Although much work is still necessary to successfully transplant complete eyes on a large scale and restore sight to people who have lost it or to people blind from birth, this world first is very encouraging for health professionals.