Tooth in Eye Surgery

[Tom Mattson]

Sorry if this has been discussed already (couldn't find it anywhere), but have you guys heard of this? Basically a woman was cured of her blindness by removing one of her teeth, boring a hole in it, and inserting a small plastic lens. The tooth was then placed into her eye socket, thus allowing light to reach her retina. She now has 20/70 vision.


Nine years of blindness almost drove Sharron "Kay" Thornton to suicide.
In the end, it was one of her teeth and a procedure surgeons said was never before done in the United States that restored her sight.


http://news.aol.com/health/article/doctors-use-tooth-to-restore-sharron-kay/673634

Now my question to you guys is, why a tooth of all things? What on earth would make someone think of that?

[DaveC426913]

Sorry if this has been discussed already (couldn't find it anywhere), but have you guys heard of this? Basically a woman was cured of her blindness by removing one of her teeth, boring a hole in it, and inserting a small plastic lens. The tooth was then placed into her eye socket, thus allowing light to reach her retina. She now has 20/70 vision.



http://news.aol.com/health/article/doctors-use-tooth-to-restore-sharron-kay/673634

Now my question to you guys is, why a tooth of all things? What on earth would make someone think of that?
Well, if you need some bony material from the patient, there's some right there for the taking. No need to go digging around for a longbone or anything...

[Tom Mattson]

But why is bony material needed? They're replacing a decidedly squishy organ!

[amezcua]

Spookily ---Where did the word "eyetooth" come from.Have we been here before?Fades picture with wobbles.

[DaveC426913]

But why is bony material needed? They're replacing a decidedly squishy organ!

They're making a pinhole camera. Provides a focal plane without need of a squishy lens.

(In some ways it's superior; it's depth of field is very large, meaning she can see things up close and far away without having to refocus, unlike the rest of us. The downside is, it works poorly in dim light.)

[amezcua]

I was reminded of a quotation by President Lyndon Johnson when asked why he was keeping quiet about Vietnam casualties. He said
If your Mother-in law lived in your house --------------------------------------and she had one eye in the middle of her forehead -----------------------------------------You wouldn`t want to keep her in the front room.

[Moonbear]

I do recall this topic being discussed before, a long time ago, but if you can't find it in a search, I don't expect to have any better luck.

From reading this article, which is far more informative about the condition it is being used to repair than what I recall from the first story this procedure was introduced in, it sounds like it's being used because the tissue that the lens normally would attach to has been too severely damaged to support a replacement lens directly. The tooth (or any other supporting tissue) may be useful also for providing a "tube" to place the lens in, so the position can be adjusted for an appropriate focal length (I don't know what is considered appropriate in a case like this), since I presume that in this procedure, you wind up with a fixed focal distance.

Since this person also had an inflammatory disorder that led to the blindness in the first place, perhaps surrounding any foreign material (the replacement lens) with tissue from her own body will also help prevent rejection or further inflammation.

[liannagreyson]

I don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case. Thank you for all the information.

[Evo]

It was my thread.

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=218617

The yahoo story is no longer there, but here is the same story.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333555,00.html