RESTORED SIGHT: Radical Surgery Implants TOOTH Into Blind Man's Eye to restore his Sight (PHOTO, VIDEO)
A blind British man has had his sight restored after pioneering surgery that involved implanting one of his teeth into his eye.
Ian Tibbetts, 43, who first damaged his eye in an industrial accident when scrap metal ripped his cornea in six places, had his sight restored by the radical operation.
The surgery allowed Mr Tibbetts to see his four-year-old twin sons, Callum and Ryan, for the first time, a moment he describes as "ecstasy".
The procedure, called osteo-odonto-keratoprothesis, or OOKP, was conducted by ophthalmic surgeon at the Sussex Eye Hospital.
Mr Tibbetts and his wife Alex agreed to the revolutionary surgery after all other options had failed, leaving Mr Tibbetts depressed and out of work.
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The complex surgery is a two-part procedure. First, the tooth and part of the jaw are removed, and a lens is
inserted into the tooth using a drill. The tooth and lens are then implanted under the eye socket. After a few months, once the tooth has grown tissues and developed a blood supply, comes the second step: part of the cornea is sliced open and removed and the tooth is stitched into the eye socket. Since the tooth is the patient’s own tissue, the body does not reject it.
In other words, the tooth is like a picture frame which holds this tiny plastic lens.
After the bandages came off, Mr Tibbetts' sight gradually returned, and he saw his sons' faces for the first time.
"I just cried, gave them a big hug and a kiss. They were totally different than what I'd pictured in my mind," he said.
Now, Mr Tibbetts' vision is now about 40 per cent, and although at first strangers stared at his new eye - which is pink, with a black pupil, he no longer is bothered by the attention.
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