Martin Jones was ready to “give his eyeteeth” to regain his vision after being blind for years. Interestingly, the doctors had a way for Mr. Jones to help him regain his sight. But what’s even more interesting is that the entire process literally required Mr. Jones to give away a real eyetooth! The doctors then used the tooth as an implant. Sounds peculiar and fascinating at the same time, right? Read on to learn how the blind man regained his vision by implanting his own tooth in his eye!

A horrific accident blinded Martin Jones

Martin Jones, a builder by profession, was not blind by birth. Things took a misfortune turn for him when he met with an accident at work. A tub filled with hot white aluminum exploded in Martin’s face while he was working at the scrapyard.

Luckily, Martin Jones survived the fatal accident, but his body suffered 37% burns. The burn accident required him to wear a special body stocking for around 23 hours a day. Not just that, the accident severely damaged Martin’s left eye. So, that eye had to be surgically removed. Although the doctors were able to save his right eye, he could still not see through it. Unfortunately, the accident left Martin completely blind.

The blind man did not regain his vision on the first attempt

Martin had to wait 12 years to regain his sight after the accident. Moreover, it was not easy for the blind man to regain his vision. While the doctors were persistent in terms of efforts, Martin seemed low on luck at first. The doctors at Nottingham first resorted to going with stem cell therapy. They used stem cells from a donor to help Martin see again. The doctors anticipated that it would repair the injured tissues in his eyes. Unfortunately, they did not succeed.

However, things changed when Martin met Dr. Liu, a corneal specialist. Mr. Liu was also the Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Sussex Eye Hospital. He decided that Martin’s case was suitable for the tooth transplant method for installing a lens in the eye. Moreover, Mr. Liu was the only surgeon in the country who could perform such a surgery.

The medical procedure that helped the blind man regain his vision was originally developed in Italy.

The process adopted by Dr. Liu to help the blind man regain his vision was originally called “osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis” (OOKP). It is a rather old procedure originally developed by Strampelli in Italy during the early 1960s. However, the process has been altered several times over the years and is now called “modified osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis” (MOOKP). While the procedure helped the blind man regain his vision, it took more than three months to complete.

At the beginning of the procedure, one of Martin’s canine teeth was removed with the root. It was then converted into a frame that could hold a special optical lens in it. The tooth was then first implanted into his cheek for three months. It enabled the tooth to develop new tissues and blood vessels. Finally, the tooth was then delicately implanted in Martin’s right eyeball. At about two weeks after the operation, Martin could finally see through his right eye.

When Martin married his wife Gill, he was still blind. When the operation had been completed, he wanted her wife to be the first person he saw after regaining his vision. So, finally, when the doctors removed his bandages, Martin saw her wife for the first time after four years of marriage.

Just like how the blind man regained his vision with an unusual implant, the following peculiar implants also worked out for these people.

1 Paralyzed man walks again with a mind-controlled implant to power his legs!

Jered Chinnock’s life changed forever when he had a snowmobile accident in 2013. It left him paralyzed from the waist down. However, in 2018, Jered underwent a groundbreaking surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It enabled him to stand up and walk for the first time in years.

Dr. Kendall Lee and his team of doctors implanted electrodes in Jered’s epidural space, a hollow area around the spinal cord, and inserted a battery in his stomach. With a thin wire connecting the two, the electrodes could be remotely controlled to stimulate the spinal cord.

When the electrodes were turned on, Jered was able to stand up and move his legs, commanding them with his mind. Though he needed the assistance of a walker, Jered managed to walk about 100 meters on his first attempt, marking a significant milestone in the treatment of paralysis.

While the doctors are still unsure how and why this is possible, they believe that the residual nerve fibers in Jered’s lower body may have allowed his brain to regain control over his leg muscles.