Aaron James Receives a Partial-Face & Whole-Eye Transplant-& a Second Chance at Life

In June 2021, Aaron James of Hot Springs, Arkansas, survived a deadly 7,200-volt electric shock while working as a high-voltage lineman. He lost his left eye, his dominant left arm from above the elbow, his entire nose and lips, front teeth, left cheek area, and chin down to the bone.
Watch Aaron's story and learn how Dr. Edwardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, along with a team of 140 surgeons, nurses, and other NYU Langone specialists, perform the world’s first whole-eye and partial face transplant for the 46-year-old military veteran.
Learn more about Dr. Rodriguez: nyulangone.org...
Learn more about NYU Langone's Face Transplant Program: nyulangone.org...

[@sherridenney4408]

This is so awesome to see! I went to high school in cave city Arkansas with aaron. I don't think anyone who knows him would say a single bad thing about him. He and his family deserves this.

[@lulumoon6942]

This tells me he has a fighting chance, bless him and his family! 🙏

[@williammoule9521]

Good luck Aaron,

[@SirTaxFraudALot]

Nice. May he enjoy his life

[@alyssawarrick22]

"We're gonna do this together!" Healing is not just the talented medical professionals, but the support system as well.

[@Tina_Vienna]

I cried watching this.. We people complain about little things, crooked teeth, big nose etc. Respect to Aaron for having the will and strength to deal with this. Respect to his wife for being there and not leaving him. Respect to all doctors & nurses for doing the impossible, possible! ❤️

[@lisabaltzer4190]

This does not look like a face transplant. It is the best I have ever seen. He just looks like he has a few scars.

[@lindabradford9591]

So true. Aaron looks amazing!

[@jemandjemand2362]

yeah. we have seen worse

[@queenwein16]

The very first hand and face transplant was done on a man from Clark, NJ named Joe DeMaio. His car flipped over and caught on fire when he fell asleep after working overnight. The drs did an amazing job on Joe's face and hands. I knew that Joe would make world news and now the drs have helped more people like Aaron. God Bless.

[@lulumoon6942]

I'm disabled now and need care from my husband i thought I'd be giving him one day, but it has brought us so much closer. I pray Aaron and his wife continue to find such love in their days together. 🙏

[@Deelitee]

Beautiful ❤❤

[@lulumoon6942]

@@Deelitee 💞

[@Ddrhl]

Everyone in this is beyond amazing...Aaron, family, friends, physicians, nurses, staff, donor, donor's family. What a medical miracle.

[@Flanneryshanedward]

Amazing story, Aaron is a true hero of the spirit inside.

[@Rock_K9]

This man has an amazingly positive attitude. And his wife deserves to be recognized for standing by her husband through this entire ordeal too. It had to be a rollercoaster of emotions. They appear to be a very loving, strongly committed couple. I wish them both an incredible life together.

[@michaelbilgen2976]

The end result looks incredible. It looks like he never had one done.

[@phoebecaroline7025]

All of those doctors, surgeons and nurses are insanely talented who came together for this man and prepared for so long. What an amazing thing to see!❤

[@DodderingOldMan]

I honestly find this as profoundly moving as anything I've seen in recent years. It's so, so awesome to see human ingenuity and creativity and skill come together to deliver such a positive impact on someone's life. We humans can do so much good when we put our minds to it. Of course, we can also do so much bad, but I'd like to think that the people who desire to do good are in the majority.

[@greenbrain8725]

All the best to this man Aaron. What a life altering ride for him.

[@robray7106]

You guys have beautiful hearts! Bless Aaron and keep him safe!

[@AAb-xy6et]

Beautiful story and result in my opinion. As an electrician myself, I hope they can prevent similar accidents from ever happening again. I'm not a high voltage electrician, but I do know similar stories.

[@jemandjemand2362]

this is.... i dont even know what to say. almost impossible things happen nowadays. first the pig heart transplant, the kidney grow in a pig embryo in china, the ape with two different genetics in one creature, and now this. this is outstanding

[@allie811.]

This is amazing. What a great team of doctors and family and friends who supported him through it all! God was watching out for him and will continue to do so. I live in Arkansas and have all my life. I hope he gets his vision back in his left eye. I know all too well what it's like to only see out of one eye and I've never known anything else. My right optic nerve was damaged from a stroke I had in utero. I'm completely blind in my right eye. If I didn't have my left eye, I would be completely blind. While there is nothing anyone can do for my blindness, I hope he can get his vision back. I've asked a relative who could see out of both eyes and then lost her vision later on whether she she would have rather been blind and not know anything else or be able to see and then loose her vision. She said she would have rather not have had her vision because she knew what she was missing out on. Whereas, I have never known anything else.

[@AutisticCannibal]

I'd like to thank this amazing hero and soldier,warrior, and survivor and beautiful wife. For being there through her husband's hardship and recovery and those amazing surgeons and nurses.

[@beszaid9245]

“We’re in this until the end” damn that’s love

[@PeirotheFirescare]

There is so much sad news in this worl and media sometimes its sooooooo good to see an amazing story like this.

[@lindabradford9591]

Best wishes to Aaron and his family. It's awesome that Dr. Rodriguez and his medical team could do this for him and to the donors families. Thank you to Aaron and all the Veterans for your service!

[@vchafab]

This is amazing! My 1 year old was born without eyes (but luckily has her optic nerves). If she could even get 1 eye transplant it would change her life. I wonder if it would even be easier because the nerves from her eye to optic nerve to her brain would not need to be re-written, it would just be like a baby opening it’s eyes for the first time.

[@thompson63]

What a great story. Great Doctor, medical team and Family.

[@katarinabluuuue]

wow, even if i late to know him, i'm glad to see him doing great, the doctors aree reallyyy miracle for us

[@dplorbl]

Adult stem cells injected into the optic nerve; that would give incredible hope for millions of glaucoma patients

[@jemandjemand2362]

yeah. bacuse glaucoma is not just the high pressure inside the eyeball, which destroys the nerv... and its totally treatable nowadays -.-

[@caravanstuff2827]

He is blessed by god to have a wife and family to help him in his hour of greatest need!!.❤️🙏🇺🇸

[@glizta42]

Thank you to every medical person involved

[@DiscoveredTV]

The facial transplant looks amazing.

[@TheCakediva08]

He deserves it!Thank you for your service!

[@felipeherrerajr.4459]

AWESOME DOCTOR AND STAFF! Y’all are definitely doing Gods work.

[@Bakersdozen41]

Oh God Bless him and all his family. I’m from Greenbrier Arkansas and I’m so happy to see this part of the United States. Arkansas is a great place to live.

[@TW-SPSBIPZX]

Wishing speedy recovery to the patient and praying to God for his wellbeing. Congrats to the team of doctors and surgeons who performed this miraculous surgery procedure 🙏🙏🙏

[@jemandjemand2362]

why a speedy recovery? whats the haste in those things? a wound needs 21 days to heal. so there is no speed in it

[@rikuleinonen]

@@jemandjemand2362 a speedy recovery means a faster recovery than usual. My stepfather recovered from a brain bleed several times faster than my biological father. So yeah, recovery times differ. A lot. Some can be up in a couple weeks, others can take several months.

[@elaineborlace7567]

Thanks for sharing this Such an awesome person. Wishing for his continued success

[@Mr.Sp0cK]

It's a miracle he survived that. Im glad his family is amazing too. Hope the medications, he must take, so the transplant doesn't gets rejected, are not significantly cutting his life short.

[@kevod09]

Such courageous bravery , from all involved. ,,🙏

[@j.jarvis7460]

So strange how these professionals have come so incredibly far in certain areas of healthcare but so far from others.

[@t_c5266]

Yeah like stomach issues. They're clueless

[@thevieadanac6115]

That’s amazing for Aaron and I’m happy he’s on the road to “normalacy”. May the donor rest in peace. Their gift will be forever remembered. 🙏🏻

[@Derrick-w4g]

Very exiting story. Amazing job. Salute to the doctors.

[@anitarose7915]

Arm transplants are working awesome!!😊😊😊😊❤

[@nataliella97]

g-d bless our coastal elite doctors ;)

[@ramyhuber8392]

Amazing. Am glad he is able to live and be with family and healthy. The eye transplant I guess is being developed.

[@LectronCircuits]

Arm & eye loss can happen to anybody at any time. Audience wishes him all the best. Cheers!

[@ericvillari8100]

Humanity at its best. Consider what our civilisation could be if we applied the principles and compassionate stance seen in Aaron James’s case to geopolitics at a universal scale.

[@hollybug-76542]

Let's hope that no matter the outcome what's learned is invaluable. Such bravery by all involved.

[@droidroxmysox]

He looks amazing 👏 I'm wondering tho why they didn't give him an arm as well

[@ArDeeMee]

One traumatic surgery at a time. Dealing with the loss of an arm is much easier than dealing with the loss of a face.

[@flamejaw378]

Wow he looked really amazing at the end! What a world we live in that can construct a face for someone like that. I had Jaw surgery almost 6 years ago and they had to cut my face just below my nose all the way across and reset my jaw.

[@Sheloveeli-j3x]

May God Bless This Man And His Entire Family Amen 🙏🏿.

[@p1ngu1no]

It’s amazing. This man can have a life now like anyone else. It’s a real second chance.

[@edmacfarlane9483]

Wow that is amazing! Medical science is unbelievable the things that can be done! Amazing donor also!

[@bishopkinlyside8477]

Wow that is amazing. I lost a leg above the knee in 2018. I wish they would do leg transplant. I have a crack at it and hopefully they can learn something from that.

[@michaelcharlesthearchangel]

A scientific achievement 👏 and a heart warming story!

[@hsfitness19]

My brother lost his both eyes due to mucormycosis at the age of 27 on dec 2023. The doctor removed his both eyes. Can you trial once again on him. If he get only one eye then, he lived his life happily ❤ please reply

[@TheTruQueen]

Best of luck‼️

[@AutisticCannibal]

Incredible surgery guys my mother has macular degeneritive surgery she's gradually going totally blind, if his eye actually begins to have real vision please I beg you find my mother some donor eyes

[@thatonegearguy]

I hope he's doing great

[@karlyt1283]

I think he looks dope with some face scars and an eyepatch. I wouldn’t guess he had a face transplant if I met him in person. Also, I think he looks like a Picasso painting now ❤

[@thevieadanac6115]

With face transplants why are they having difficulty getting the lips (especially upper lip? to work properly? I’ve seen other face transplants and similar issue, the lips don’t move. I’m just curious if it’s a nerve thing or a muscle attachment issue?

[@templeosigwe3545]

Amazing

[@coolguy79jeffrey]

any new updates on his eye?

[@lrhyne49able]

Amazing! How was he able to grow a beard?😮

[@frotedflake4054]

Thats the best face transplant i think ive seen, ever. It just looks like he lost an eye

[@connie1wilson]

I find the whole transplant thing amazing, but rejection is scary!

[@ohnyutecharles5648]

this is so amazing to see, wow, humans are fucking amazing

[@andrewedmondson7188]

Doc says together we're gonna "face on" the challenges and be successful. 😅

[@piazza1129]

Awesome

[@eloquentia7207]

Amazing what medicine can achieve nowadays!

[@xNecromancerxxx]

_Did he develop any super powers after the accident?_

[@paulazemeckis7835]

That 2nd operation made him a cute guy again! Not sure if he is sighted with the implant...? Love modern medicine.

[@AutisticCannibal]

I think you should implicate nerve stem cells and maybe neuro link application

[@greghale717]

I seen this was posted 6 months ago, so I was hoping this was an update in 2024 on Aaron, but just a recap. Been following the original story so really nothing new in this video.

[@khaleesisnow1683]

🙏❤️🙏

[@dlinares72]

Wow! He looks so good! Thanks to these Drs and nurses

[@fakeblossom]

"you guys are off just by a millimeter" -still fuggs up the whole surgery, dude's eye half inch lower than the other one

[@mjames1423]

It was left lower on purpose to help protect the eye until he regains control of the lid etc…

[@utvpoop]

Some people have it without a surgery

[@greulich9635]

now all he needs is a titanium upper jaw and he would looks completly normal.

[@youcainthandlethetruth]

Called him stud

[@truescotsman4103]

Something as simple as wearing a hat while working can lead to an accident like this.

[@dedesmith613]

Please please please speak with Dr Sanduk. Ruit in Nepal he is director of the Institute of otopthamology in nepal India he has done thousands of eye surgeries and has given all sight.Nepal has about 90 percent of blind living there he has tons of experience he can help.he can give good advise also.

[@FortunateJuice]

A second "chance" at "life".

[@GreyException]

I really hope this guy is one of the luckier patients of Mr. Rodriguez, as this surgeon's track record has been quite questionable.

[@tsuldavid6342]

IT'S GOD'S WORK HALELUYA 🙏

[@ArDeeMee]

I‘m pretty sure only medical professionals were involved.

[@salvadorpicasso1503]

@@ArDeeMeeA belief in something is quite incredible whether, it is of a higher power or our own mental capacity. The placebo and non placebo effect is incredible to look into.

[@himanshusingh5010]

God bless him alot

[@EpicFailsAndWins101]

Whats up stud