A revolutionary medical milestone in transplant medicine was performed by Dr Eduardo D. Rodriguez surgically for the first time ever globally. This iconic surgery will offer hope to many people who find themselves in such situations. This article delves into the recipient’s life before and after this historic surgery, and the doctors' take on this breakthrough surgery.
Who is the First Person to Have a Full Eye Transplant
Source:https://nyulangone.org/news/worlds-first-whole-eye-partial-face-transplant-recipient-achieves-remarkable-recovery-viable-eye-one-year-after-landmark-surgery
Aaron James is a 46-year-old military veteran and electrical lineman from Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was passionate and dedicated to work and enjoyed outdoor activities. Aaron had an active lifestyle. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, often participating in community events and projects.
Aaron met with an accident while working on June 10, 2021. A live wire of 7,200-volt touched him, resulting in the loss of his left arm above the elbow, left eye, nose, lips, front teeth, and left cheek and chin area.
This accident caused him near death, with the loss of his left arm, which was fixed with a prosthetic, and facial disfiguration, which impacted his sense of smell. He couldn’t eat solid food or speak properly. He also suffered isolation and stress for the next two years. He also got his left eye removed due to the excruciating pain, with its optic nerve cut close enough to facilitate transplantation.
While Aaron was staying at the Texas hospital for early-phase face reconstruction procedures, the NYU Langone Health team got in touch with him to start discussing the possibilities of a face transplant along with a donor's eye for its initial evaluation one year after the accident in June 2022.
After three months of Aaron being on the waiting list, which is the shortest time of all, a matching donor, a man in his 30s, donated his face tissue and an eye. This donor’s family supported his organ donation, leading to saving another three people's lives with his liver, kidneys, and pancreas. After several evaluations of the donor—including tests to check if the eye was healthy and usable, led by Dr Vaidehi S. Dedania, a retina specialist at NYU Langone—the donor was found to be a perfect match.
Historic Surgery
It was a 21-hour-long surgery led by Dr Rodriguez and his colleagues in the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, the Departments of Ophthalmology and Radiology, and NYU Langone’s Transplant Institute. This surgery also included the injection of the CD34-positive donor’s stem cells into Aaron’s optic nerve (a nerve that connects the eye to the brain) of the eye for fast recovery. This was the first ever partial face, along with a whole eye transplant, which makes this surgery one of a kind.
“We’ve shown that the procedure is safe and may be effective, but we need more time to see if it helps improve the chances of restoring vision and if there’s anything else we can do in the future to make the process even better,” said 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 is the fifth face transplant led by Dr Rodriguez and the first-ever complete eye transplant. “The fact that we've achieved the first successful whole-eye transplant along with a face transplant is a huge accomplishment that many thought couldn't be done,” said Dr Rodriguez. “We’ve taken a big step forward and opened the door to the next phase of restoring vision.”
Doctors never thought Aaron would be able to see again with the transplanted eye, says Daniel Ceradini, a surgeon at NYU Langone Health. This is because there was no proof that the donor’s optic nerve could connect with Aaron’s brain successfully. Although Aaron cannot see a thing with this new left eye, doctors are in positive hope since his eye showed progressive results in many evaluations. His regular eye doctor, Dr Dedania, said,” Aaron's eye shows great progress, such as an intact eyeball. Unlike most failed surgeries, the transplanted left eye didn’t shink, received blood supply, and sensed light.”
Dr Rodriguez said, “Aaron’s determination to regain the function and independence he lost after his injury has been truly inspiring. We couldn’t have asked for a better patient.” “I’m pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal things,” Aaron said.
Bottom Line
“I’m incredibly thankful to the donor and his family for giving me a second chance at life during such a hard time for them. I hope they find comfort in knowing that a part of the donor continues to live through me,” said Aaron.
Surgeries such as these have a positive learning impact in the field of medicine. Organ donation also played a major role in this breakthrough surgery since if Aaron hadn’t received the right donor, this surgery wouldn’t have taken place in the first place.
Would you offer a second chance to anyone by donating your organs? Do let us know in the comments below. If you’ve any burning opinions to share, please send them to larra@globalindiannetwork.com.
