VOA科学技术2023--Man Receives World’s First Eye Transplant

Man Receives World’s First Eye Transplant

A hospital in New York City recently said it had successfully performed the world's first eye transplant and the patient is doing well.

New York University Langone Health said it performed the surgery last May.

Hospital officials say it will be some time before it is known if the 46-year-old patient, Aaron James, will see with the new eye. But the transplant operation itself went well and the eye looks healthy.

James is an electrician in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was hit in face by a live electric wire while at work in 2021. James was severely² injured and came close to dying. He lost much of his face and one arm as a result. Doctors removed James' left eye because the damage caused so much pain.

James had many surgeries, including a face transplant. The rehabilitation³ was difficult. He had to breathe and eat through tubes.

Doctors thought his face would look better if they could give him a donor⁴ eye.

James says he cannot blink his eyelid⁵ and he is not able to move the eye. But he said it feels good.

"I'm getting sensation now," James said, adding, "You've got to start somewhere."

He hopes doctors will learn something from his operation that can help the next person.

Eye operations that include transplants of the cornea – the clear tissue in front of the eye – are common. They can treat some kinds of sight loss. But transplanting the entire eye – including its blood supply and optic nerve system – is brand new. Some people call it a "moonshot," which is an activity that has the possibility of great profit but low chance of success. Successful eye transplants could help doctors cure blindness.

Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez led the transplant team. He said "we're not claiming that we are going to restore sight ... but there is no doubt in my mind that we are one step closer."

Some surgeons did not think the operation would go well. They worried the new eye would lose its fluid and look like a dried grape, or raisin⁶.

But when Rodriguez examined James' new eye last month it was full of fluid and looked as good as the one he was born with. And, there was no sign of rejection⁷ of the new organ.

Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg of Stanford University has long studied the idea of eye transplants. He called NYU's operation a "validation⁸" of past transplant attempts using animals.

Goldberg said the next step is to regrow the eye's optic nerve. He noted⁹ that animal studies are making progress toward that effort.

The eye transplant was the first of its kind. But James' other major surgery was the face transplant. They are still rare. His was only the 19th performed in the U.S.

James' new eye came from a donor in his 30s when he died. The donor also provided three other people with needed organs.

James' operation took 21 hours. Doctors connected the donor's main optic nerve to the remains¹⁰ of James' optic nerve. The doctors also added stem cells to try to help repair the nerve.

James is not able to open the new eye and he wears a covering to protect it. But last month he said he felt some sensation which signaled growing nerves. He also said he could feel the doctor's touch when Rodriguez was examining his new eye.

Vaidehi Dedania is an NYU eye doctor who also works with James. She said the new eye appears to have special cells called photoreceptors which turn light into electrical signals. Sight happens when the optic nerve sends those signals to the brain.

So far, the nerve is not fully¹ healed but doctors are surprised by its progress. Steven Galetta is NYU's head of neurology. He said only time will tell if James' nerve heals enough to permit sight.

The patient himself agrees.

"We're just taking it one day at a time," James said.

Words in This Story

patient –n. the person seen by a doctor

sensation –n. the feeling provided by nerves when you are touched

blindness –n. the condition of not being able to see

validation –n. when an action receives approval because of its result or meaning

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 eyelid   

n.眼睑，眼皮

参考例句：

• She lifted one eyelid to see what he was doing.她抬起一只眼皮看看他在做什么。
• My eyelid has been tumid since yesterday.从昨天起，我的眼皮就肿了。

6 raisin   

n.葡萄干

参考例句：

• They baked us raisin bread.他们给我们烤葡萄干面包。
• You can also make raisin scones.你也可以做葡萄干烤饼。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 validation   

n.确认

参考例句：

• If the countdown timer ever hits zero, do your validation processing. 处理这种情况的方法是在输入的同时使用递减计时器，每次击键重新计时。如果递减计时器变为零，就开始验证。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Although the validation control is a very widespread idiom, most such controls can be improved. 虽然确认控件是非常广泛的习惯用法，但还有很多有待改进的地方。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。