When Aaron James accidentally touched a live electrical wire while at work as a lineman, doctors didn’t know if he would survive. The Army veteran, from Arkansas, lost large parts of the left side of his face, his arm, and his eye. He could no longer smell, taste, or move his mouth. However, last year, in the world’s first operation of its kind, 140 NYU doctors took 21 hours to transplant a new eyeball and face from an anonymous donor. In the months since surgery, doctors have closely monitored James for any signs that the experimental surgery had gone wrong. So far, he has surpassed all of their expectations, beginning with recovering in the ICU in record time. Now he’s enjoying doing normal things, like eating solid food — because of the extent of his injuries the father of one had been on a liquid diet for 2 years — and being able to kiss his wife again. Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, the lead surgeon and Director of the Face Transplant Program at NYU, said many experts didn’t think the transplant would be successful, and even if it was that the eyeball would soon be rejected. Dr. Rodriguez and a team of surgeons, nurses and support staff removed the muscles, nerves, fat and skin, as well as the left eye, from the donor. They then began racing against the clock, trying to attach each millimeter-wide nerve that rules the eye to James’ face before the organ died. They also flushed the area around the eye nerves with stem cells from the donor, in hopes it would help the nerves grow. In the year since, the organ has maintained its size and blood flow, and the rest of the facial transplant has also stayed healthy. At this point, James can't see out of the donor eye, though his right eye still works fine. The blood flow and some additional tests leave doctors hopeful that there's still a chance he might be able to see in the future.
