A blind British man has had his sight restored with a procedure called osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis, which involves the reconstruction of a new eye using a tiny plastic lens and one of the patient's teeth, according to a Daily Mail story.
Ian Tibbetts, 43, of Telford, U.K., lost his vision in 1999. Last December, Tibbetts had surgery on his left eye in a revolutionary procedure that used part of a tooth to help him regain 40% vision in the eye.
The procedure uses a tiny plastic lens that is inserted into a hole drilled through the tooth, which is later implanted in the eye. As long as the retina is still functioning, the lens provides a new window through which the patient is able to see. And because the tooth belongs to the patient, the body does not reject it, according to the story.
The treatment is only suitable for certain types of blindness, including patients who have severe and irreversible corneal damage.
