The world’s first whole-eye replacement and partial-face transplant has been performed on a US military veteran who lost his arm and suffered severe facial injuries in a high-voltage electrical accident.
Aaron James, 46, from Arkansas, was working on power lines when his face accidentally touched a live 7,200-volt wire, causing extensive damage.
A surgical team from NYU Langone Health in New York has transformed Mr James’s appearance after he suffered devastating injuries to his left eye and left arm, his entire nose and lips, front teeth, left cheek area, and chin down to the bone.
Remarkably, not only have surgeons been able to reconstruct his face, they hope his sight can be restored as blood flow is beginning to return to his retina, six months after the initial 21-hour procedure.
We’ve made one major step forward and have paved the way for the next chapter to restore vision
Dr Eduardo Rodriguez,
NYU Langone Health
“Aaron has been extremely motivated to regain the function and independence he lost after his injury,” said Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, who is director of NYU Langone Health's face transplant programme.
“We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect patient.
“This achievement demonstrates our capacity to embrace the most difficult challenges and drive continuous advancements in the field of transplantation and beyond.”
The medical team at NYU Langone took on the case two months after the accident in June 2021 during early facial reconstruction work at a Texas medical centre where Mr James was being treated.
Surgeons had to remove his left eye, due to severe pain. They severed the optic nerve as close to the eyeball as possible to maximise the chance of a successful eye transplant.
Recovery signs
The transplanted left eye has shown signs of health, including direct blood flow to the retina – the area at the back of the eye that receives light and sends images to the brain.
“Given Aaron needed a face transplant and will be taking immunosuppressive drugs regardless, the risk-versus-reward ratio of transplanting the eye was very low,” said Dr Rodriguez.
“The mere fact that we’ve accomplished the first successful whole-eye transplant with a face is a tremendous feat many have long thought was not possible.
“We’ve made one major step forward and have paved the way for the next chapter to restore vision.”
Although corneal transplants are relatively common, with thousands performed in the US each year, successful whole-eye transplants to restore vision have remained elusive due to the complex nature of the organ.
The challenges include nerve regeneration, immune rejection, and retinal blood flow.
As the eye is intricately connected to the brain through the optic nerve, which is part of the central nervous system and responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain, it is a complex procedure.
Re-establishing these nerve connections successfully is a fundamental requirement for a whole-eye transplant to restore vision and one of the biggest challenges.
Mr James was on the transplant waiting list for just three months before a suitable donor was found in New York.
“The donor hero was a young man in his thirties who came from a family that strongly supports organ donation,” said Leonard Achan, chief executive of LiveOnNY, the organ procurement organisation for the greater New York metropolitan area.
“He … donated tissues leading to this successful face and eye transplant, but also saved three other individuals between the ages of 20 and 70, donating his kidneys, liver, and pancreas.”
3D-printed face
A 3D-printed replacement of the donor’s face was created to restore the integrity of the donor’s identity after the organs were removed.
Meanwhile, adult stem cells were injected into Mr James's optic nerve to maximise the chances of success.
Transplanted stem cells can work as a replacement therapy and natural repair crew, creating heathy cells that replace the damaged or dysfunctional elements of the eye.
It is hoped the groundbreaking achievement can open up new possibilities for future advancements in vision therapies and related medical fields.
The world’s first face transplant was performed in France in 2005 on a woman called Isabelle Diniore who was mauled by a dog. She died 11 years after the surgery in 2016, aged 49.
The youngest recipient of a replacement face was Katie Stubblefield, 21, who survived an attempted suicide aged 18, while the oldest was a 64-year-old Canadian man who was given a face transplant at Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital after a shooting accident.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
