The unusual “tooth in eye” operation has been performed numerous times throughout the globe for decades to restore vision, but Canada had never had a reported case prior to this. In a Canadian first, doctors have implanted a blind woman’s tooth into her eye in an attempt to restore her lost vision.
The unusual “tooth in the eye” surgery has been performed several times worldwide over decades to restore vision, but it is Canada’s first reported instance. The patient, Gail Lane, had lost her sight ten years ago. She underwent the procedure one week ago at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver, the hospital stated in a Facebook post.
Dr Greg Moloney, an ophthalmic surgeon at the hospital in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), called the surgery uncharted even for most eye surgeons whereby they implant a lens inside the patient’s tooth to form a new, working cornea.
The intricate process takes two steps. The physicians initially extracted one of Lane’s teeth, shaved it down to a rectangle, drilled a hole, and inserted a plastic optical lens into it. It was then inserted into Lane’s cheek where it will remain for approximately three months so that it can grow the supporting tissue it needs.
The tooth) doesn’t have any connective tissue that I can put a suture through to attach it to the eyeball. So the reason for implanting it for three months is so it can develop the layer of supporting tissue,” Moloney explained to CTV News.
He also added that the patient’s eye was readied for the implant by taking off the upper layer of its surface and replacing it with a soft tissue graft from within his cheek. The graft would heal within a few months before the “tooth” can be implanted.
