Blind man can now see through his tooth after losing sight 20 years ago
Topics: Canada, World News, Health
Liv Bridge
Featured Image Credit: ABC7/YouTube
Topics: Canada, World News, Health
A man who lost his sight more than 20 years ago can finally see again, thanks to his tooth.
Brent Chapman of North Vancouver, Canada, lost his vision at the age of 13 years old after suffering a rare allergic reaction to the medication, Ibuprofen.
The illness, known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, tragically rendered him blind in both eyes and for the past two decades, he's spent tirelessly searching for a treatment to restore his vision.
None of them proved successful long-term - until now.
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At the age of 34, he connected to Dr Greg Moloney, an ophthalmologist at Providence Health Care’s Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver.
The doc suggested performing a rare 'tooth-in-eye' procedure, known by its medical name 'osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis', to Brent's right eye.
The surgery, which Brent says reminds him of something out of a movie, was developed in the 1960s and has only been performed on a few hundred people around the globe.
Back in February, Canada celebrated the success of the procedure after three patients became the first in the country's history to have tooth-in-eye surgery to restore their vision, likewise performed by Dr Moloney himself.
Gail Lane, 75, was one such patient who had suffered an auto-immune disorder that had scarred her corneas a decade before, and shared she can miraculously see colors and enjoy nature again post-surgery though still struggles with some parts of her vision.
As for Brent, he said he was able to see his hands moving in front of him immediately after coming around, and had 20/40 or 20/30 vision in the eye after it fully healed.
“I feel fantastic,” Brent told WABC, adding: “Vision comes back, and it’s a whole new world.”
“When Dr. Moloney and I made eye contact, we both just burst into tears. I hadn't really made eye contact in 20 years," he added.
The way it works involves pulling a patient's tooth, flattening it and drilling a small hole in the center where a prosthetic lens is fitted.
The tooth is then placed at the front of the patient's eye, allowing them to see through the lens.
The doc told the outlet that the patient's own tooth is often used to mitigate the chance of the body rejecting it as a foreign object.
After learning about the surgery, Brent admitted it sounded far-fetched.
“It kind of sounded a little science fictiony," he said. "I was like, ‘Who thought of this? Like, this is so crazy,’ ” he told Today.com.
Dr Moloney added to the outlet: "Usually, the reaction is shock and surprise and frank disbelief that it [the procedure] even exists."