Blind woman can now see through her TOOTH thanks to rare surgery

A woman who was blind for a decade saw her husband and dog for first time after her tooth was implanted in her eye—in an intricate and bizarre-sounding surgery. 

Gail Lane, 75, from Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, lost her sight ten years ago, after an auto-immune disorder scarred her corneas—the lenses at the front of the eyes, which are essential for clear vision.

However, in February, this all changed after she was one of three people to undergo a rare surgery called osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (OOKP).

The two-part operation, also known as the ‘tooth-in eye’ surgery, entailed implanting a prosthetic cornea on a peg made from her tooth into her eye socket.  

Over the following weeks, she gradually regained her ability to see. 

First she became able to see the difference between light and dark, and later, as her vision improved more, she was able to see movements again, including the happy wagging tail of her partner’s service dog, Piper.

As the improvements continued, she began to see her dog more clearly, and the rest of the world around her.

She told CBC News: ‘I can see lots of colour and I can see outside now. The trees and the grass and flowers, it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to see some of those things again.’

The process starts with the removal of a tooth which is sliced lengthwise and then polished to create a smooth plate.

Then a hole is drilled into it to create space for an optical device—a prosthetic cornea—to be inserted, which is cemented in place.

Next the combined tooth plate and optical device, known as an OOKP, is implanted into the cheek for three months, where it can form connective tissue and blood vessel.

This is vital in ensuring it isn’t rejected when it is later sutured into the patient’s eye socket, typically over a prosthetic—an artificial eye.

The NHS explains the procedure as: ‘Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) is a technique used to replace damaged corneae in blind patients for whom cadaveric corneal transplantation [a cornea from a dead organ donor] is not an option. 

‘It was developed some 40 years ago in Italy and uses the patient’s own tooth root and alveolar [jaw] bone to support an optical cylinder. 

‘OOKP surgery is only considered in end stage corneal disease when there is no other available treatment to restore sight.’

The life-changing surgery allowed Ms Lane to see her partner, who she met after losing her eyesight, for the very first time, six months after the operation.

 ‘I’m starting to see facial features on other people as well, which is also pretty exciting,’ she said on the progress so far.

However, she sadly isn’t yet able to see her own face, but hopes this will eventually be a possibility thanks to a new pair of glasses on the way.   

This miraculous surgery has allowed her to do simple things that many of us don’t appreciate being able to do.

Now she can choose her own outfits, having previously relied the volunteer app service, Be My Eyes, to help her pick clothes that matched. 

It is the first time the surgery has been done in Canada, but it had been previously done in other countries.

The first surgeon to do the operation in the country was Dr Greg Moloney from Vancouver’s Mount Saint Joseph Hospital.

‘It’s a complex and strange operation, but it basically involves replacing the cornea,’ he told the Canadian news site.

Dr Moloney explained that the tooth is used as part of the procedure to increase the delicate operation’s chances of success. 

He said: ‘We need a structure that is strong enough to hold onto the plastic focusing telescope [the artificial cornea], but is not going to be rejected by the body.’ 

On the surgeries, Lane who found them uncomfortable but not painful, said: ‘It’s been a long wait, but well, well worth it.

‘I’m hoping to have more mobility and independence in terms of short trips and walks here and there where I don’t always have to have someone’s arms for me to grab onto.

‘I’m just looking forward, really, to seeing what I can do or do again—and trying to just be patient and let my brain adjust a bit because that’s another big part of this.’