Rare 'Tooth-in-Eye' Surgery restores vision for Canadian man after 20 years

Rare Tooth-in-eye surgery restored vision to Brent Chapman, a 34-year-old man from North Vancouver, in a medical breakthrough. What sounds bizarre is that the procedure involved using a part of his own tooth to restore his vision. Chapman lost his eyesight over two decades ago due to Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare allergic reaction triggered by Ibuprofen. After years of unsuccessful treatments, he turned to Dr. Greg Moloney at Providence Health Care’s Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, who recommended the rare “tooth-in-eye” surgery, medically known as Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP), CNN Health reported.

The complex procedure involves removing a healthy tooth, shaping it with a small plastic lens, and implanting it into the eye after letting it develop a blood supply under the cheek’s skin. This innovative surgery gives new hope to patients with severe corneal damage who have exhausted other options.