Tooth-in-eye implant undertaken in Australia

The Channel 9 News reported last week that an Australian patient has undergone the first operation in a two stage process to use one of his canine teeth to restore his sight.

Peter Halleday has been blind since 1978 when chemicals exploded at the power station of Carter Holt Harvey in Mt Gambier.

Dr Trevor Hodson, interviewed on ABC South East SA Radio, said that the surgical procedure would see the tooth being implanted with a small microscope inside of it that could allow at least thirty-degree vision in one eye. He said the procedure was being carried out by Professor Tan in Singapore. Dr Hodson praised the continued support of the employer who assisted in getting Mr Halleday to Singapore.

Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) is a method of corneal substitution, which uses a prosthesis composed of an acrylic optical cylinder mounted within a section of one of the patient’s own teeth. Because the implant uses autologous tissue, it has been used in people who are at high risk of graft rejection following conventional transplantation.

This technique was first used in Italy about 40 years ago and more recently surgeons in Britain, Germany and Singapore have reported success in using the OOKP procedure.

Readers interested in more information about the procedure might like to start with the following sites:

Singapore Medicine report of a 2004 implant

Singapore Medicine report on the OOKP process and international recognition of the Singapore based surgical team involved

Royal College of Opthalmologists Guidelines (UK) for OOKP