For the first time in Canada, surgeons at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver have successfully performed a groundbreaking procedure known as osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (OOKP), or “tooth-in-eye” surgery, to restore sight in patients with severe corneal blindness. This pioneering surgery involves embedding a patient’s own tooth, typically the canine, with a plastic optical lens, and then implanting the whole assembly into the eye.
Brent Chapman, a 33-year-old from North Vancouver, is one of the three Canadians undergoing this procedure. Initially apprehensive about the idea of having his tooth implanted into his eye, Chapman was reassured after speaking to a woman in Australia who had undergone the procedure and regained her sight, even taking up snow skiing after 20 years of blindness.
The surgery involves two major stages. In the first operation, surgeons remove a tooth, typically from the patient’s upper jaw, and hollow it out to house a small lens. The tooth-lens assembly is then implanted in the cheek, where it integrates with surrounding tissue. Several months later, a second surgery is performed to transplant the tooth-lens device into the eye, restoring vision.
Dr. Greg Moloney, the ophthalmologist leading the surgeries, explained that this approach has been successful for decades in countries like the UK and Australia, though it has never before been performed in Canada. The procedure is particularly beneficial for patients suffering from corneal blindness due to autoimmune diseases, chemical burns, or trauma, where the retina and optic nerves remain healthy.
While the surgery is intensive and comes with inherent risks—such as infection, rejection, or complications—the potential rewards are significant. A study from Italy showed that, on average, 94% of patients who underwent the procedure retained their sight 27 years after the surgery. For those like Chapman, who has been blind since he was 13 due to Stevens-Johnson syndrome, the surgery offers a new hope for long-term vision restoration.
With this success, Dr. Moloney hopes to establish Canada’s first OOKP clinic at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital. Funded by a $430,000 donation from the St. Paul’s Foundation, the clinic will make this life-changing procedure more accessible to Canadians in need, eliminating the need for costly travel abroad.
For Chapman, the surgery represents more than just the hope of sight—it’s the chance to live a fuller life, one where he can experience the world and even enjoy activities like playing basketball again. “Hopefully, this will break some ground,” he said. “If there are other people in Canada who need this, it would feel amazing to have this as an option here.”
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