NEW YORK – A surgical team from New York performed world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant for a 46-year-old military veteran from Arkansas, who survived a work-related high-voltage electrical accident.
The 21-hour surgery was performed by the surgeon of NYU Langone Health, the medical facility announced in a press release as the US is observed the Veterans Day to pay tribute to war heroes.
“The surgery included transplanting the entire left eye and a portion of the face from a single donor, making this the first-ever human whole-eye transplant in medical history and the only successful combined transplant case of its kind,” the official statement read.
While it is still unknown whether he will regain sight, since the May 2023 procedure, the transplanted left eye has shown remarkable signs of health, including direct blood flow to the retina—the area at the back of the eye that receives light and sends images to the brain.
The medical facility said that although many questions remain in a case with no precedence, this groundbreaking achievement opens new possibilities for future advancements in vision therapies.
The May 27 surgery included a team of more than 140 surgeons, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, director of the Face Transplant Program, the Helen L. Kimmel Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, and chair of the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone.
The recipient, Aaron James of Hot Springs, Arkansas, survived a deadly 7,200-volt electric shock while working as a high-voltage lineman in June 2021, when his face accidentally touched a live wire. He had lost his left eye in the incident.
The donor hero was a young man in his 30s who came from a family that strongly supports organ donation.
“He, in support by his family, generously donated tissues leading to this successful face and eye transplant, but also saved three other individuals between the ages of 20 and 70, donating his kidneys, liver, and pancreas,” said Leonard Achan, RN, MA, ANP, president and CEO of LiveOnNY.
