Man receives world’s first whole-eye transplant after deadly accident
Surgeons have accomplished what was never done before—the first-ever complete eye transplant in the world.
The surgical team at NYU Langone Health performed a complex 21-hour procedure to transplant an entire eye along with a part of the face for a military veteran who had experienced a life-altering accident.
Aaron James, 46, of Arkansas, miraculously survived a deadly 7,200-volt electric shock in June 2021 while on duty as a high-voltage lineman. It was during this incident that James’s face came into contact with a live wire by accident.
According to the press release, this unfortunate tragedy resulted in the loss of his left eye, his left arm from above the elbow, his complete nose and lips, front teeth, the left cheek area, and the chin down to the bone.
The eye has displayed “remarkable signs of health”
The total eye and partial face transplant had never been attempted before. Before performing the surgery, the surgical team spent nearly two years rigorously evaluating the procedure.
James was formally registered as a potential recipient through the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in February 2023. Both the donated face and eye came from a male donor in his thirties.
On May 27, 2023, James underwent a rare dual transplant which involved more than 140 healthcare professionals.
The likelihood of James recovering his vision is still uncertain. Nonetheless, doctors haven’t dismissed this possibility.
Following the surgery, the transplanted left eye has displayed “remarkable signs of health,” particularly direct blood circulation to the retina. The retina serves as the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. It’s responsible for converting light into neural signals that are transmitted to the brain, enabling visual perception.
“The progress we’ve seen with the eye is exceptional, especially considering that we have a viable cornea paired with a retina showing great blood flow five months after the procedure. This far exceeds our initial expectations, given our initial hope was that the eye would survive at least 90 days,” said Bruce E. Gelb, MD, a transplant surgeon at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute.
Stem cell therapy to restore optic nerve
Every organ in our body is extremely complex, consisting of countless microscopic-level structures such as cells, blood arteries, nerves, and more. That’s why the complexity involved in transplanting an entire eye is significant.
The press release mentions that corneal transplants are quite common in the United States — with thousands performed on an annual basis.
However, complete eye transplants to restore vision remain challenging due to the eye’s complexity, difficulties with nerve regeneration, immune rejection, and maintaining proper blood flow to the retina.
“The human eye is intricately connected to the brain through the optic nerve, part of the central nervous system and responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain,” added the release.
One of the most difficult hurdles is properly reestablishing these nerve connections, which is highly important for a whole-eye transplant to restore vision.
The surgeon opted to “combine” the donor eye with adult stem cells acquired from donor bone marrow to achieve this.
Stem cell injections were infused into the recipient’s optic nerve during the surgery, aiming to aid in its restoration and offering a glimmer of hope for restored vision in the coming months.
“This is the first attempt of injecting adult stem cells into a human optic nerve during a transplant in the hopes of enhancing nerve regeneration. We chose to use CD34-positive stem cells which have been shown to harbor the potential to replace damaged cells and neuroprotective properties,” explained Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA, executive director of the Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Center and professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Langone.
This unprecedented medical procedure is more than simply a watershed moment; it is a beacon of hope for many people hoping to restore their sight one day.
“We’ve made one major step forward and have paved the way for the next chapter to restore vision,” said Eduardo D. Rodriguez, who led the surgical procedure.
Source: Interesting Engineering
Scientists Find Cannabis Compound Inside Totally Different Plant
Scientists Find Cannabis Compound Inside Totally Different Plant
Man receives world’s first whole-eye transplant after deadly accident