Doctors amazed by army veteran’s recovery after world-first whole-eye transplant

Surgeons who performed the world’s first whole eye transplant on an army veteran said they have been “truly amazed” by his remarkable recovery.

Aaron James, 47, from Arkansas in the US, lost his left eye and most of his face after an electrical cable touched the left side three years ago.

In May 2023, he underwent 21 hours of surgery involving more than 140 healthcare professionals to replace his face – which included getting a new eye.

Now more than a year later, his donor eye continues to maintain normal pressure and blood flow – despite surgeries on animals showing a different outcome where the eye often shrank significantly, the doctors said.

Eduardo D Rodriguez, chair of the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Health in the US, said: “We are truly amazed by Aaron’s recovery, with no episodes of rejection.”

Tests also show that that rods and cones, the light-sensitive nerve cells in the eye, survived the transplant.

Doctors say this raises hope that one day, whole-eye transplants could be performed to restore sight – despite Mr James still yet to regain his vision in his left eye.

Dr Daniel J Ceradini, director of research and associate professor in the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, said: “The whole thing has been a monumental achievement, considering how Aaron has done post operatively and how good he functions and looks.”

He said scans suggest the brain may be responding to the light through the donor eye but added that these findings, published in the journal Jama, “are very preliminary and would need to be studied over time”.

Mr James, who served in the Army National Guard for 10 years, said that being able to smell, taste and eat solid food – particularly pizza – after surviving on purees for two years was a “shining moment”.

He added: “I knew getting back to normal would be (on track) if I could eat pizza.

“The very first thing that I can remember when I woke up from surgery is being able to smell, because before that, I didn’t have a nose, so I couldn’t smell, and that also meant I could not taste anything.

“The only way I could eat was through a straw because by mouth was locked – I couldn’t open or close my mouth.”

Mr James, who also lost his left arm in the accident and now wears a prosthetic, said that since surgery, he is now “pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal things”.

Meagan James, 39, his wife of more than 20 years, said her emotional moment was when she kissed her husband on the lips for the first time in two years.

She said: “Just to have that back was pretty special.”

Prof Ceradini said the team will continue to do more work to understand how to restore sight to the eye.

He said one of the steps could involve helping the optic nerve – which send visual messages to the brain to help a person see – regrow.

Despite not being able to see with his left eye, Mr James said he “felt honoured to be patient zero”.

He said: “This has been the most transformative year of my life.

“I’ve been given the gift of a second chance, and I don’t take a single moment for granted.

“I’ve gained my quality of life back, and I know this is a step forward in the path to help future patients.”