In recent years, medicine has achieved more and more victories and the most recent was the performance of the first whole eye and partial face transplant in the world. The announcement was made last Thursday (9) and represents a great innovation for the healthcare sector.
Although the revelation occurred last week, the transplant occurred much longer ago: in May 2023. The patient was Aaron James, a military veteran who worked as a safety officer at the high-voltage cable plant and survived to an accident in 2021.
New possibility
James saw his life change when, two years ago, an electrical wire touched his face during a routine work. In this process, he ended up losing his left eye, left arm, nose, lip, front teeth, parts of his chin, a piece of his left cheek and even the bones of his face.
The process of reconstructing James’ face began two months after the accident, when a medical team began planning. The first step was to remove his left eye due to the intense pain he felt, but cutting the optic nerve as close to the cornea as possible to work on the possibility of a transplant.
An important point is that, until then, an eye transplant had never occurred. Thus, the medical world saw this scenario change on May 27, when Aaron underwent a transplant of not only his eye, but also his face.
Hard work
The procedure lasted approximately 21 hours and involved a team of more than 140 professionals led by surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez, director of the face transplant program at NYU Langone Health.
“Simply having successfully performed the first whole eye transplant is a milestone, even more so considering that many thought it was not possible to do it. We have taken a huge step forward and paved the way for the next chapter: restoring vision “Rodriguez said.
“I am very grateful to the donor and his family, who gave me a second chance at life. I will also be forever grateful to Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez and his team. Our hope is that my story can serve as an inspiration to those who they face serious problems due to facial and eye injuries,” celebrated James during an international press conference.
It’s worth mentioning that James spent around three months on the waiting list until he found a matching donor for both his skin and eyes. Furthermore, it is important to say that his left eye is still purely cosmetic, as doctors continue to perform certain procedures to make the retina react to light.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
