Doctors in New York complete the first full-eye transplant in humans
CTOnews.com, Nov. 13 (Reuters)-Surgeons from New York announced last Thursday that they have completed their first human whole eye transplant, which is still seen as a breakthrough, although the patient has not regained vision through the transplanted eyes.
According to the surgical team at New York University's Langney Medical Center, the operation was performed during a partial face transplant, and six months after the transplant, the transplanted eyes showed important signs of health. including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising retina.
"our ability to transplant an eye is a huge step forward in itself, something that has been imagined for centuries but never achieved," said team leader Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez. At present, doctors can only transplant the cornea, the transparent front layer of the eye.
The recipient of the eye is Aaron James, a 46-year-old veteran from Arkansas who survived a work-related high voltage accident but lost his left face, nose, mouth and left eye. According to CTOnews.com, the transplant took a total of 21 hours.
For aesthetic reasons, doctors initially intended to use the eyeball as part of a facial transplant, Dr. Rodriguez said in a video interview. "it would be great if some form of vision recovery occurs, but... our goal is to complete the technical operation and keep the eyeball alive," Rodriguez added.
Currently, the transplanted eyes do not communicate with the brain through the optic nerve. Dr. Rodriguez said that even if eyesight is not restored, transplanting a viable eyeball opens up many new possibilities. Other research teams are developing ways such as inserting electrodes to connect neural networks in the brain to blind eyes to achieve visual regeneration, he said.
Dr. Rodriguez said James may still restore vision in the transplanted eyes. "I don't think anyone is sure he will see it. But again, they are not sure that he will not see," Rodriguez said. "at this point, I think we are very satisfied with the results of the very technical operation that we can achieve."
