After two decades of blindness, a man has regained his sight with the help of an innovative surgical procedure involving a tooth.
Brent Chapman, hailing from North Vancouver, Canada, lost his vision at just 13 years old due to a rare allergic reaction to Ibuprofen.
This condition, known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, left him blind in both eyes. Over the years, Brent tried numerous treatments to restore his vision, but none offered a lasting solution – until recently.
At 34, Brent came across Dr. Greg Moloney, an ophthalmologist at Providence Health Care’s Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver, who proposed a unique approach.
Dr. Moloney suggested a rare procedure called ‘osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis’, also known as the ‘tooth-in-eye’ surgery, to be performed on Brent’s right eye.
Developed in the 1960s, this surgery has a cinematic feel and has been carried out on only a few hundred patients worldwide.
Earlier this year, Canada marked a milestone as three patients, including Brent, underwent successful tooth-in-eye surgeries, all under the expertise of Dr. Moloney.
One of the patients, 75-year-old Gail Lane, who had suffered from an auto-immune disorder that damaged her corneas, reported being able to see colors and appreciate nature again, though she still faces some visual challenges.
Brent experienced immediate results after surgery, seeing his hands move before him and achieving 20/40 or 20/30 vision once fully healed.
“I feel fantastic,” Brent shared with WABC. “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,” Brent recalled.
The procedure involves extracting a patient’s tooth, flattening it, and drilling a small hole for a prosthetic lens.
The modified tooth is then positioned at the front of the eye, allowing vision through the lens.
Dr. Moloney explained that using the patient’s own tooth reduces the likelihood of rejection by the body.
Initially, Brent was skeptical about the surgery.
“It kind of sounded a little science fictiony,” he commented. “I was like, ‘Who thought of this? Like, this is so crazy,’ ” he relayed to Today.com.
Dr. Moloney added: “Usually, the reaction is shock and surprise and frank disbelief that it [the procedure] even exists.”