MathewBrodeRickJamesDeanMartinLawrenceFishburne
45764
999
16
Surgery aims to restore sight by implanting a telescopic lens in a tooth
It involves removing a patient's tooth, usually the canine, installing a plastic optical lens inside it, and then implanting the whole thing into the eye
"There is no risk of rejection, because we're using part of the patient's own body,"
It's specifically meant for people with severe corneal blindness in the front of the eyes caused by conjunctival scarring from autoimmune diseases, chemical burns and other traumas, but who still have healthy retina and optic nerves in the back of their eyes
two surgeries, several months apart
During the first surgery... remove the patient's tooth, shave it down into a rectangle, and drill a small hole in it to accommodate the lens.
Finally, they implant the tooth-encased lens inside the cheek so that it can grow new tissue around it
A few months later, they go back in, remove the tooth from the cheek and sew it into the front of the eye, underneath the cheek tissue. The result is a pink-coloured eye with a small black circle, through which the patient can see.
the surgery has been performed for several decades in 10 countries, including the U.K. and Australia, with a high success rate.
A 2022 study out of Italy found that, on average, 27 years after surgery, 94 per cent of patients could still see.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/tooth-in-eye-surgery-canada-1.7470626
KingMCG
The Corinthian has entered the chat
HelpfulCorn
I am high and had a *really* hard time with that headline
Woll
Huh - Eye teeth
mygodhasabiggerdick
I can't even deal with living in the future sometimes.
sodalis
"I'll bet my eyetooth." used to be an expression, if you're old enough.
SteveTheEgg
I saw a thing on how and why this procedure is done And you will never convince me that it wasn't a mad, albeit benign, scientist that came up with it.
inquisitivefluff
psstuphere
Well, you eat with your eyes too. I'll let myself out
AThreeFootTallChocolateMooseWithFudgeEyes
"The first bite is with the eye" - Kryten, Red Dwarf, S06E02 "Legion"
sockshoesockshoe
And canines are also called "eye teeth"...
Deoxyribonucleicacidwashedgenes
Ironic though that Canada's health insurance would likely cover this procedure, but not cover replacing the luxury bone they removed to perform it.
halfnudcook6
Won't he look down in the mouth?
HillOfBeans
+1!
ARealDjentleman
LiterallyAWizard
I understand this is a major medical breakthrough, but that headline has the same energy as "For the first time, Canadian scientists have finally taught trees how to scream"
UncleRat
They taught trees how to scream? Can they do it with a French accent?
LiterallyAWizard
While some things would, no doubt, be hindered by the presence of a French accent, I do not see how having one would prevent the trees from screaming.
HandoB4Javert
Lexgeddon
Huh. Didn't know the Corinthian was a child actor.
Indigoscott
I remember this!! Why do I remember this? A documentary or something?
Timmy79
Whoever came up with that idea first must have been regarded as a lunatic initially, and maybe had taken lots of drugs when they did
giraffinator
Ok guys, here me out...
Sayagain
It's a tornado...full of sharks...
Timmy79
"you know when you're laughing, your eyes close but your mouth is open? Well imagine if you could see with your teeth?! You'd never miss anything!'
Doommaker
Look, if I go blind, just let me stay blind.
DanOrtega
Real question: Who comes up with this Dr. Frankestein shit? I mean, I admire the result, but really, who wakes up one morning going "ammana put a tooth in the eye socket. And then the patient is gonna see!"
Tradeammo
No
DrewThe3DPrinterGuy
autika
Iiiiii think I'd rather be blind.
MsQuin
That's pretty fuckin metal
imyourrealdad
I suggest they use the eye tooth for this
FatboyRich
Something about “ my eye teeth” comes to mind
aurifex
She looked at me with that toothy eye, and I knew she was hungry.
Smingersdidit
OnyxTurret
Came looking for him. Not disappointed. +1
Mikeiller
https://imgur.com/I9qxEWm
VonSnootingham
What the unholy fuck is this from?
DimwitF
Sandman! This character is The Corinthian, a nightmare who's escaped the dream realm and is excited to be doing what he was made for (scary murder) in the real world.
The comic and the Netflix show are both excellent!
PatrickDiomedes
sadly, Gaiman's an abusive piece of shit. So either get his books from the library, or pirate them.
DimwitF
Yeah that whole story was a bummer to learn about
SJBSavageInk
... Now I'm wondering why I haven't seen any crazy red eyes
briham86
nojustsayitdont
The thing I find really disturbing here, is when they show light being focused on the back of the eye, they do it all wrong.
BobbyVegana
fuck the human centipede doctor, this shit is the real nightmare
GreaseMonkeyOfLove
That did not make it any less creepy….
DimwitF
Yeah all the extra squishy noises were fun
cidane
Holy Crap! is it real?
InDubiousBattle
Yup. I am so happy that these people have their vision restored, but the results are...well, not exactly pretty...
HandoB4Javert
IgnisInvictus
Well... that's different. Ingenious. And. Different.
ReconditeEidolon
Xtreme contacts sports
uplookdont
This should pair well with the research to regrow teeth.
penut61
We do that with the nerves. They said why not tooth, ey?
mmmerf1
Also a little terrifying. Like something out of a greek tragedy...
"Yes Monoclees, learn to see as thou dost chew, and feast your eyes upon all, anew!"
HandoB4Javert
muliphen
The idea is not a new one either, which is also pretty wild: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis
smellsmiketeenspirit
THAT'S THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARE THAT'S WHAT IT IS
IgnisInvictus
Well, yes, that too. I like being able to see, though, and ya gotta admit if it works and it's scary as hell, it still works.
smellsmiketeenspirit
Yeah, this would need some therapy re-framing session to get used to it for me, but yeah.
Californiajackson
Logical really. They use your eye teeth.
HughGRecti0n
CLASSIC eye teeth. Should have thought of doing that sooner.
TussleTheCat
Anime/manga have been onto something for YEARS. All those villains with teeth for eyes just had really bad eyesight, and the teeth fixed it.
pelaaja0
Why is a tooth better than bone for this? Bone, unlike teeth, would heal and they're big enough that you don't need to sow them back in to grow extra tissue.
xn1992
Resorption? Idk
prosper020
Because tooth is already exposed bone like material that doesn’t require the removal of skin and muscle to get to? Also because the human body handles loosing teeth better than losing bone chucks? I don’t actually know. It seems like a lot less of an invasive operation to use a tooth than it would be to extract a piece of bone. Why force the patient to heal from a bone deep wound on top of eye replacement surgery?
Colopty
Since bone heals while teeth don't I guess a bone lens might grow shut?
SkeksiLady
From the linked article:
"Why a tooth? Because teeth have dentine, which is the hardest substance the body produces, making it the ideal casing to bridge the plastic lens and the patient's eye, says Dr. Greg Moloney, an ophthalmologist and surgeon at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver
HeSaysFantastic
He surely meant enamel (the outer part of the tooth and the hardest substance the body produces - Mohs hardness 5) rather than dentine (the softer inner part of the tooth - Mohs hardness of 3)
SkeksiLady
Well, dude is an opthalmologist, not a toothologist so maybe he got confused
AnythingMuchShorter
As I understand it, because while they could get some bone without harm, like the tip of the bone in your toe, it doesn't have enamel meant to seal it from the outside. It's porous and would decay quickly.
Strategicgnomer
They're all wrong, it is so you can see the trooth.
Doompug
Yes, you look throoth it
DoseOfScience
IIRC the last time I heard about this, it has to do with the specific nerves involved, otherwise I would assume they don't want to cut someone open to dig out a chunk of bone.
ZoidbergIsGreat
But we harvest chunks of bone all the time for surgery. As an example I worked a surgery where we put part of a rib into a patients nose (they'd had a cancer in their nose prior and had had much of it removed). I wonder if there's less chance of the tooth breaking down due to the enamel?
Mercurybird
They do it all the time. They use part of the rib. Easiest to get bone from.
DoseOfScience
The most likely other source I can think of would be a finger/toe tip since you could simply cut the entire thing loose. Some quick googling says that it is because the tooth won't reject (or likely grow over) the artificial lens. https://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/surgeries-procedures/tooth-in-eye-surgery.htm
dogfavoriter
Probably the latter. I imagine an open incision to remove part of a bone has a much higher complication rate than removing a tooth. Even if they are still both low in absolute terms, a surgery with a 2% complication rate is significantly more risky than one with a 0.1% complication rate. (I just made these numbers up but I imagine the real ones are similar)
Mercurybird
They get it from the rib cage. Easiest way. Barely any recovery time.
DoseOfScience
The most likely other source I can think of would be a finger/toe tip since you could simply cut the entire thing loose. Some quick googling says that it is because the tooth won't reject (or likely grow over) the artificial lens. https://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/surgeries-procedures/tooth-in-eye-surgery.htm
Nichols3
I'd lose a finger to get an eye back
WaterUnderTheRocketAppliances
I'd rather lose a tooth than a finger
LumpPump
i feel i could probably sacrifice the tip of my pinky with not problem tho i would have to hear from people that lost their pinky/pinky tip to be sure it is as out of the way as i believe it to be. i need my teeth to eat crunchy things and unless they are giving me a fake tooth along with it.. i dont want crunchy things stabbing my gums where my tooth was lol
MidnaShadow
Standard process for OOKP seems to be a custom tooth+bone implant to replace what was removed. Source: https://www.allaboutvision.com/treatments-and-surgery/vision-surgery/corneal/tooth-in-eye-surgery/ "Patients also need to see a prosthodontist to receive a replacement tooth for the one used for OOKP. A prosthodontist will also be able to replace or reconstruct any other affected oral tissue."
modus0
I imagine they'd either put in a bridge, or a fake tooth, otherwise you might have issues with the rest of the teeth migrating or tilting to fill the void, which could lead to other problems.
Blank1612
I personally use my pinky a lot, to feel my way around things, put stuff down gently etc. Its a little like how cats use their whiskers I guess. I am a night owl with an eepy gf though, so I tend to move around quietly in the dark pretty often.
Taalii
You have more teeth than fingers, usually. Also different bones have different structure.