DemonKnight Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I cant even wrap my brain around how this proceedure works... Its truly amazing what doctors can do today. DUBLIN (AFP) - An Irishman blinded by an explosion two years ago has had his sight restored after doctors inserted his son's tooth in his eye, he said on Wednesday. Bob McNichol, 57, from County Mayo in the west of the country, lost his sight in a freak accident when red-hot liquid aluminium exploded at a re-cycling business in November 2005. "I thought that I was going to be blind for the rest of my life," McNichol told RTE state radio. After doctors in Ireland said there was nothing more they could do, McNichol heard about a miracle operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP) being performed by Dr Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton in England. The technique, pioneered in Italy in the 1960s, involves creating a support for an artificial cornea from the patient's own tooth and the surrounding bone. The procedure used on McNichol involved his son Robert, 23, donating a tooth, its root and part of the jaw. McNichol's right eye socket was rebuilt, part of the tooth inserted and a lens inserted in a hole drilled in the tooth. The first operation lasted ten hours and the second five hours. "It is pretty heavy going," McNichol said. "There was a 65 percent chance of me getting any sight. "Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness to be able to do simple things," McNichol said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. Here's someone who truly understands how important the gift of sight is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 amazing and what is more amazing is that because of this story and procedure , the phrase : " dont eat with your eyes , eat with your mouth " can now in part be disproved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 we all have eye teeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 donating a tooth, its root and part of the jaw. Woah... part of his jaw too? That's no small donation there... sounds pretty painful. Absolutely amazing that something like this can restore sight!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Gives new meaning to the term eye candy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I wonder if his eye will chatter when he gets cold. Seriously though...that surgery is truly incredible!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNasty Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 That is a pretty cool sounding procedure. Reminds me of a a really cool eye case I got to observe last week. We had a premature baby born without eyelids in our hospital. The doctor ended up using the circumcision flap to construct new eyelids for the kid. The surgery was a great success, with only one minor drawback-- the kid ended up a little cock-eyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeeman Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 That is a pretty cool sounding procedure. Reminds me of a a really cool eye case I got to observe last week. We had a premature baby born without eyelids in our hospital. The doctor ended up using the circumcision flap to construct new eyelids for the kid. The surgery was a great success, with only one minor drawback-- the kid ended up a little cock-eyed. I bought this...right up until the very end. Bastard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.