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Blind Man Sees with Aid of Son's Tooth
07/03/2008

You know the old-school system of justice, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But a tooth for an eye? That's something a little bit different.

This strange exchange is neither a form of retribution nor an extremely bizarre gift from the Tooth Fairy – it's actually a very generous gift from a young Irishman, Robert McNichol, 23, to his formerly blind father, 57-year-old Bob McNichol.

In 2005, Bob McNichol's sight was destroyed in a freak accident at a recycling plant, when he was doused with liquid aluminum. Doctors predicted that he would never be able to see again.

But McNichol never liked to take no for an answer: When he heard about a unique operation called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, he knew he had to give it a shot, even though the success rate was a mere 65 percent.

In the technique, the eye socket is rebuilt and implanted with a human tooth and part of the jawbone, to provide support for an artificial cornea. Luckily for McNichol, Robert was willing to sacrifice one of his pearly whites to help his father regain his sight.

The technique isn't simple: McNichol's first stint on the operating table lasted ten hours, with a five hour follow-up session at a later date. But thanks to his son's gift, he's already seeing amazing results – and yes, we mean that literally.

"Now I have enough sight for me to get around and I can watch television. I have come out from complete darkness," he told AFP.

from Gimundo