Damage to one’s eye is often permanent and results in poor that can not be improved by any optical means. The development of new optical aids has dramatically impacted a patient’s ability to see after trauma or accidents affecting the eye. One such change has been small telescopes that can enlarge the image onto a damaged retina, or move an image to a better or more sensitive part of the retinal tissue.

One problem with such devices has been the patient’s ability to actually wear and use this complex instrument. They are unsightly and cumbersome to use and frequently result in lack of use. Thus the need to better deliver this optical aid became a priority within the low vision field of practitioners.

A new procedure called Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis was performed on a Mississippi woman to help her see after losing sight due to Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Dr Victor Perez of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute employed an extracted tooth from the patient, shaved, sculptured and modified it to hold and optical cylinder with a telescope. This tooth/telescope unit was then implanted under the patient’s skin so it could bond and give time for the body’s immune system to get used to. It was left there for 1 month during which time the eye was prepared for its’ surgical insertion.

This unit was then implanted in the eye at the iris plain. Two weeks post op, the patient was able to read 20/70, and Dr Perez expected her vision to further improve as the swelling decreased.

This patient used her own tooth as prosthesis in her eye and may serve as a model for further such procedures. She has a gap in her smile, but can finally see again.