Son’s Tooth Gives Father Sight
Blinded by an explosion two years ago an Irishman has taken an unusual route to having his sight restored.
Doctors inserted his son’s tooth in his eye, he said on Wednesday.
Bob McNichol, 57 lost his sight in a freak accident. He was told by doctors there was nothing to be done for him. Then 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 was pioneered in the 1960′s in Italy. It involves creating a support for an artificial cornea from the patient’s own tooth and the surrounding bone.
Robert, McNichol’s 23-year old son donated a tooth, its root and part of the jaw. This was used to rebuild McNichol’s eye socket. Part of the tooth was inserted and then a lens was inserted in a hole drilled in the tooth.
"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.