NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — Surgeons have performed the world’s first transplant of an entire human eye, an extraordinary addition to a face transplant. It’s too soon to know if the man will ever see through his new left eye.

An accident with high-voltage power lines had destroyed most of Aaron James’ face and one eye. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health hoped replacing the missing eye would yield better cosmetic results for his new face, by supporting the transplanted eye socket and lid.

The team announced Thursday that, so far, it’s working as intended. James is recovering well from the dual transplant in May and the donated eye looks remarkably healthy.

“It feels good.” James told The Associated Press as doctors examined his progress recently. “I still don’t have any movement in it yet. My eyelid, I can’t blink yet. But I’m getting sensation now.”

“You got to start somewhere, there’s got to be a first person somewhere,” added James, 46, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. “Maybe you’ll learn something from it that will help the next person.”

Today, transplants of the cornea are common to treat specific types of vision loss. But transplanting the entire eye — the eyeball, its blood supply and the optic nerve that must connect it to the brain — is considered a moonshot in the quest to cure blindness.

Whatever happens next, James’ surgery offers scientists an unprecedented window into how the human eye tries to heal.

“We’re not claiming that we are going to restore sight,” said Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, NYU’s plastic surgery chief, who led the transplant. “But there’s no doubt in my mind we are one step closer.”

Some specialists had feared the eye would shrivel quickly. Instead, when Rodriguez propped open James’ left eyelid last month, the donated hazel-colored eye was as plump and full of fluid as his own blue eye. Doctors see good blood flow and no sign of rejection.

The hurdle is how to regrow the optic nerve, although animal studies are making strides, Goldberg added. He praised the NYU team’s “audacity” in even aiming for optic nerve repair and hopes the transplant will spur more research.

“We’re really on the precipice of being able to do this,” Goldberg said.

James was working for a power line company in June 2021 when he was shocked by a live wire. He nearly died. Ultimately, he lost his left arm, requiring a prosthetic. His damaged left eye was so painful it had to be removed. Multiple rounds of reconstructive surgery couldn’t repair extensive facial injuries, including his missing nose and lips.

Face transplants remain rare and risky. James’ is only the 19th in the U.S., the fifth Rodriguez has performed. The eye experiment added even more complexity.

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