Canadian doctors performed a remarkable surgical operation to transplant a human tooth into the eye of a woman who lost her sight, enabling her to see in the future. The news was published by Mount Saint Joseph hospital in Vancouver on their Facebook page. Jayne Lin lost her sight ten years ago and underwent the first part of the operation at the end of February.
The procedure, known as "ocular tooth surgery," involves removing the patient's tooth, usually a molar, embedding a plastic optical lens into it, and then performing a complete transplantation of the structure in the eye. Dr. Greg Mauloni, an ophthalmologist and surgeon at the hospital, noted that this is "a rare operation that many people have not heard of, even if they are surgeons."
Mauloni explained the specifics of the procedure, stating: "The tooth does not contain tissues through which we can bypass a stitch, so it needs to be connected to the eyeball." This innovative step may give hope to people with severe disabilities worldwide. The result will be a pink eye with a small black dot through which the patient will be able to see. "In case luck smiles on me and I regain part of my vision, I will be able to see remarkable things," said Lin.
Speaking about the surgery, Lin expressed her grief over the impossibility of seeing herself. Due to the complexity of the operation, it is performed only on one eye. The doctor added that the donor eye is prepared for transplantation by performing the removal of the outer layer and replacing it with the soft tissue from the patient's cheek. Then the modified tooth is placed in the cheek and remains there for at least three months.
The final stage of the operation will take place in a few months, when the doctors will remove the tooth from the cheek and transplant it into the front part of the eye under the tissue of the cheek. "I haven’t seen myself for ten years. So the goal is to replace it in three months (in the cheek) – this is an experience of supporting fabric," said Lin. In the photographs is depicted the tooth, inside which there is a plastic optical lens, before its transplantation into the eye. This tissue transplant will settle in the course of a few months before the transplantation of the "tooth."
The doctors first removed one of Lin's teeth and shaped it into a rectangular form. Then they made openings and inserted a plastic optical lens into it.
