Canadian Man Regains Vision After Tooth Implanted In His Eye

Brent Chapman, 34, from North Vancouver, can see again after surgeons extracted his canine tooth, flattened it, drilled a hole through it, inserted a lens and implanted it in his eye. The complex procedure, called osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis, restored vision Chapman lost at age 13 from Stevens-Johnson syndrome triggered by ibuprofen. "It kind of sounded a little science fictiony. I was like, 'Who thought of this?' Like this is so crazy," Chapman said. Dr. Greg Moloney at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital performed the two-stage surgery, first placing the modified tooth in Chapman's cheek for three months before implanting it in February and June. Chapman now has 20/40 or 20/30 vision and can read, walk without a cane and play basketball again. "Dr. Maloney and I made eye contact, and it was quite emotional. I hadn't really made eye contact in 20 years," Chapman said. (Story URL)