Blind woman of over 10 years can now see through her tooth following rare surgery
A woman from Canada who has been blind for over 10 years has regained the ability to see, all thanks to her tooth.
Gail Lane, from Victoria in British Columbia, lost her sight over a decade ago, but she has now been given a new lease of life after becoming just one of three people to undergo a rare surgery which aimed to restore her sight.
The 75-year-old initially lost her sight when an autoimmune disorder scarred her corneas, but a two-part operation has now allowed her to see again after a prosthetic cornea was attached to a peg made from her tooth and implanted in her eye.
Gail underwent the osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (OOKP) surgery, performed by Dr Greg Moloney from Vancouver's Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, back in February of this year.
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After just two weeks, she gradually began to discern colours and make out shapes, which included being able to see her adorable service dog Piper for the first time.
The NHS are far more qualified than I am to explain OOKP, and they describe it as 'a technique used to replace damaged cornea in blind patients for whom cadaveric corneal transplantation [a cornea from a dead organ donor] is not an option'.
'It was developed some 40 years ago in Italy and uses the patient’s own tooth root and alveolar [jaw] bone to support an optical cylinder. OOKP surgery is only considered in end stage corneal disease when there is no other available treatment to restore sight.'
For those of you who are still confused about what part her tooth plays in all this, it is removed from the mouth and sliced and drilled into, to create an opening for the cornea to be inserted.
After three months living inside the patient's cheek, which is done to ensure that the body doesn't reject it, it is then placed into the eye socket.
Fortunately, it appears to have been a huge success for Gail, who is now able to pick out her outfits and hopes to soon be able to manage solo trips and walks, after the procedure was completed for the first time ever in Canada.
She said, as per CBC: "I can see lots of colour and I can see outside now. The trees and the grass and flowers, it's a wonderful feeling to be able to see some of those things again."
The life-changing surgery also allowed Gail to see her partner for the very first time, having met six months after she lost her sight. Let's hope she wasn't disappointed.
Gail added: "It's been a long wait, but well, well worth it. I'm starting to see facial features on other people as well, which is also pretty exciting.
"I'm hoping to have more mobility and independence in terms of short trips and walks here and there where I don't always have to have someone's arms for me to grab onto.
"I'm just looking forward, really, to seeing what I can do or do again—and trying to just be patient and let my brain adjust a bit because that's another big part of this."
Meanwhile, during an interview with LADbible, a blind man has explained what he can see while dreaming and thinking in his head.
Topics: NHS, Health, World News
James Moorhouse