Surgeons at NYU Langone have performed the world’s first whole eye transplant. The recipient can’t see out of his new eye, but it’s still healthy more than five months after the operation — putting doctors a major step closer to restoring vision with donor eyes in the future.
The patient: Aaron James, a 46-year-old military vet living in Arkansas, was working as a high-voltage lineman in 2021 when he came in contact with a live wire. The accident caused severe burns that led to the loss of his left eye, his nose, his mouth, half of his face, and his left arm from just above the elbow.
Doctors at NYU Langone became aware of Aaron’s case two months later. The hospital’s face transplant program is one of the best in the world, and after talking to Aaron, his family, and his doctors, they determined that he would be a good candidate for a partial face transplant.
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