People left 'terrified' after watching 'creepy' video showing how eye surgery is done

Video shows a kind of surgical procedure on the eye which includes an entirely unexpected stage.

Surgery has advanced enormously, with some kinds of eye surgery in particular being among the most delicate you can have.

Some procedures on the eye have become relatively common surgeries for someone to undergo.

For example, having a cataract removed is now a fairly routine procedure for a surgeon specialising in the eye.

That's not to say that it's not important however, as before the procedure to remove a cataract was pioneered, having a cataract could render someone effectively blind in extreme cases.

Now, a procedure that takes just 30-45 minutes can completely remove this risk, though in some countries it is not readily available.

But the eye surgery that we're looking at here is considerably more complicated than a routine operation to remove a cataract.

Not only that, but it includes some elements which are not so much unexpected as scarcely believable.

This is implanted into the eye. (Reddit / ChairmanMeowOfficial)

The procedure is called an osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis.

Readers who know their Ancient Greek may already have hazarded a guess from the 'odonto' element of the surgery's name.

If you guessed that this is a surgery on the eye which involves teeth, then you are indeed correct, somehow.

The procedure was pioneered in Italy in the 1960s, and is only attempted in very extreme circumstances when other options have been exhausted.

So what does the procedure consist of?

Firstly, a healthy tooth is removed from the patient's mouth and fashioned into a structure with a small hole in the middle.

The inner surface of the eyelids, corneal surface, and any scar tissue are also removed from the eye.

The structure made from the tooth is then implanted into the patient's cheek and left there for around four months.

This is to allow the tooth to grow a new blood supply.

Presumably you would also get a crown for the lost tooth. (Reddit / ChairMeowOfficial)

Once ready, the newly grown structure is taken out of the cheek and implanted into the prepared eye.

People shared their disbelief at a video of the procedure on Reddit, with one saying: "Who even thinks to try this? Amazing and creepy at the same time", while another wrote: "This is out of a horror movie."

A third joked: "A tooth for an eye , something something, now not blind?"

As outlandish as it sounds, there is actually an instance of the procedure actually being carried out successfully.

In 2009, the Telegraph reported that builder Martin Jones from the UK successfully had the procedure following an accident which left him blind.

He told the outlet: "When I first heard about the technique I couldn't believe it. I don't think many people can.

"My friends just don't believe me. They think I'm pulling their leg or have just made it up.

"But when I take my glasses off they say 'oh my God', because my eye looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. They're just amazed at it."