21
Sep
USING A TOOTH TO RESTORE VISION
Doctors in Miami, FL have used a tooth to restore sight to a blind woman. The procedure is officially called modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP), and it’s the first time this procedure has ever been accomplished in the U.S. Dr. Yoh Sawatari extracted one of the patient’s teeth and prepared an implant of her own dental tissue for her eye. By using her natural tissue there is less chance of an immune reaction. Doctors used part of the cheek to recreate the tissue around the pupil. The tooth had a hole drilled through it to support a prosthetic lens.
OOKP is more common in Europe than it is in America. Nevertheless this is a fascinating story!
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Technology/woman-regains-vision-tooth-implanted-eye/story?id=8595589