Blind Irishman sees with the aid of son's tooth in his eye

www.physorg.com ^ | 2-27-2008 | Staff

[Red Badger]

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.

[HeadOn]

Yep, those are the images... Good work.

[Red Badger]

I doubt it, because the keratin in the nail would break down fairly rapidly.......

[weegee]

(singing)

You put the tooth in the eye, you nut...

[ElkGroveDan]

I wonder if it hurts to get a cavity in your eyeball.

[HeadOn]

I think this procedure is for those who are sensitive to foreign objects. If they use your own tooth, or that of a close relative, rejection risk is minimized...

[CarrotAndStick]

Thanks!

Google toolbar with the ‘Image Search’ and the ‘Search within site’ buttons makes the whole thing easy!

[Red Badger]

Not as much as brushing them ......

[Conspiracy Guy]

I thought that would be the case.

[martin_fierro]

Blind Irishman sees with the aid of son's tooth in his eye

Sentences-You-Thought-You'd-Never-Read PING

[Red Badger]

Not to mention toenail fungus would be a real b$#@H!...........

[KarlInOhio]

Thanks. That is not at all what I was picturing.

Does the tooth fairy try to pry your eye out if you put your head under the pillow? :-)

[Hatteras]

She said You’re drunk, you’re drunk,
you silly old fool,
So drunk you cannot see...

[Conspiracy Guy]

I was pondering that issue as well.

[Waco]

Hard to believe. The eyeteeth are named right, I guess. Mine never came in still showing up on x-ray tho. way high. I’m 69 now so I don’t look for them to come down.

[Red Badger]

Well, if you ever go blind you’re all set!.........

[CarrotAndStick]

This is gross, but I couldn't resist!

[C210N]

Gonna have to re-work some old expressions:

An eye for a tooth; and a tooth for an eye.

[Mancolicani]

Eye for an eye, and a tooth for an eye

[Mancolicani]

I owe you a beer - beat me to it!

[Eaker]

LOL!

I am going to show your post to Mojo!