This is the first in the world that brings hope to people who have lost one eye. US surgeons announced on Thursday (November 9) that they had performed the first complete eye transplant on a patient who did not recover his sight. – At least at this moment.
Just five months after surgery, the patient’s eye is still showing signs of very good health, including blood flow to the retina. Results left by the experts »perplexed“said Dr. Eduardo Rodríguez, who led the procedure, at a press conference. “There are millions of people who have lost their sight, and we’re not saying we’re going to solve it today.– announced the surgeon. “But we’re definitely a little closer“.
“Improving for the next patient”
The surgery, which lasted approximately 21 hours, was performed at the end of May by the NYU Langone Health group at New York University Hospital. In addition to the left eye and its socket, surgeons also transplanted a nose, lips and other facial tissue taken from a donor. The recipient patient, Aaron James, suffered a potentially life-threatening workplace accident in 2021 when his face came into contact with a high-voltage power line.
Because he had to take immunosuppressants no matter what to avoid the grafts on his face, this ex-soldier was an ideal candidate for an eye transplant attempt. Aaron James, whose right eye still works normally, appeared at the press conference with his face completely open, his left eye closed under the lid (which still cannot move naturally).
“I see it or not, it is like this– he said, thanking the donor and his family. “You have to start somewhere and I hope this starts something we can improve on for the next patient.»
“I smell again, I eat»
“I smell again, I eatHe told “France Presse”, adding that he wants once again.to go out in public“. “I was able to kiss my wife for the first time in a year and a half“. Is it possible for the transplanted eye to regain vision later? “In medicine, we never like to say neveranswered Vaidehi Dedania, a retina specialist at NYU Langone Health. “We will continue to follow this and see how things develop. But we have great hope.»
“Most of the retina is preserved and our tests show that it is capable of generating a signal“, he elaborated. Doctors did not expect such good results, and a team was quickly formed to study different ways that could help restore vision.
Aaron James, who knew this surgery could only have cosmetic benefits for him, has now been able to return to Arkansas to live with his wife and daughter and returns to New York every month for appointments. You follow.
“Remarkable Success”
We are talking about “remarkable achievement“, which is an important step towards “the ultimate goal of vision restorationDaniel Pelaez, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami, told AFP.
“This is a huge step forward“, added surgeon Kia Washington, who has been working on this problem for 10 years at the University of Colorado. “So many people still doubted“that kind of transplant”was possible in humans.» The main difficulty in eye transplantation is to restore the transmission of information to the brain through the optic nerve. This is actually cut into both the patient and the donor to perform the graft. Previously, whole eye transplants had already been performed on small animals, and in some cases, their vision was at least partially restored, explained surgeon Kia Washington.
“Many Different Methods”
But achieving this in humans will require a combination of “many different methods“, According to him. Among the future avenues the specialist suggests are gene therapy, the use of stem cells, or even preparing the recipient’s brain through electrical stimulation.
In Aaron James’ case, stem cells from a donor’s spinal cord were also injected into the patient’s optic nerve in hopes of improving his recovery. Will it one day be possible to give sight to a person born blind through a transplant? This is still a distant horizon, answers Kia Washington. But “I think yes, it will happen in the coming decades.»
Source: Le Figaro
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