Eduardo D. Rodriguez and Aaron James (after surgery) Credit – Mateo Salcedo – NYU Langone Health
New York University’s (NYU) Langone Health performed the world’s first-ever Whole-Eye Transplant. The procedure was performed on the 46-year-old Aaron James, a military veteran from Arkansas who survived a work-related high-voltage electrical accident. James also received a partial-face transplant
This is an unbelievable leap forward for the medical field and opens up innumerable possibilities. Soon enough, we will see limb transplants and more.
The transplant itself was so complex that it required a team of more than 140 surgeons led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, director of the Face Transplant Program, and the surgery lasted more than 21 hours when it was performed back in May.
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In an exciting development in the field of stem cell research and its potential application in treating optic nerve damage and restoring vision, the doctors used stem cells from the host with the donated eye. While the use of stem cells to induce optic nerve regeneration is still in its early stages, it holds promise for offering new treatment options for individuals with vision impairments caused by optic nerve damage.
The combination of donor eye tissue with donor bone marrow-derived adult stem cells in this particular case suggests a potential synergistic effect. The stem cells could provide the necessary support and signals to stimulate the regeneration of damaged optic nerve cells, while the donor eye tissue could provide a structural framework for the regenerated cells to grow into.
The ongoing preclinical animal studies are crucial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of stem cell-induced optic nerve regeneration. These studies will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms involved in stem cell-mediated repair and the potential long-term outcomes of this treatment approach.
The optic nerve plays a critical role in restoring vision after a whole-eye transplant. It is responsible for transmitting visual information from the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, to the brain. When the optic nerve is damaged or severed, it can disrupt the transmission of visual signals, leading to blindness.
Successfully connecting the donor and recipient optic nerves is a major challenge in whole-eye transplantation. The optic nerve is a complex structure with thousands of tiny nerve fibers that need to be precisely aligned and connected to restore vision. Even with the most advanced surgical techniques, there is a risk that the nerve fibers may not regenerate or connect properly, leading to partial or complete vision loss.
“Aaron has been extremely motivated to regain the function and independence he lost after his injury. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect patient,” said Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez. “We owe much of our success in this monumental endeavor to the exceptional institutional support we receive at NYU Langone and the unwavering dedication of our world-class team in delivering the highest level of care to our patients. This achievement demonstrates our capacity to embrace the most difficult challenges and drive continuous advancements in the field of transplantation and beyond.”
“This is the first attempt of injecting adult stem cells into a human optic nerve during a transplant in the hopes of enhancing nerve regeneration,” 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. “We chose to use CD34-positive stem cells which have been shown to harbor the potential to replace damaged cells and neuroprotective properties.”
NYU Langone’s Face Transplant Program, part of the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery and under the leadership of Eduardo D. Rodriguez has performed multiple face transplants. These include the first face transplant in New York State and the world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant.
