Tooth in the Eye Surgery brings back vision to a 20-year-old Boy

Doctors from Sankara Eye Hospital performed the rare ‘tooth in the eye’ surgery to revive the vision of Mahantesh, who was suffering from blindness since childhood. This miraculous surgery has helped him gain vision after 15 long years, restoring his faith in medical science.

6-year-old boy Mahantesh had lost his vision due to a simple fever which turned out to be fatal for him as his body couldn’t accept the medications prescribed and the drug had severe complications on his health finally leading to bilateral blindness to both his eyes. Mahantesh parents consulted various doctors in Hubli and Hyderabad where they were advised to wait till the boy turns 20 years, as he was very young at that point to check on any possibilities of restoring his vision.

Finally, when the boy turned 20, the parents consulted his eye condition at Sankara Eye Hospital, where after several examinations the doctors rectified that he was suffering from bilateral corneal blindness with severe dryness in the eye. This problem actually led to the complete blindness and the doctors advised him for a “tooth in the eye” surgery.

Once the family decided to go ahead with the surgery, the doctors held a detailed pre-surgical counseling for Mahantesh and his family where they were briefed on the previous operation and also the changes in facial appearance post this surgery. Both patient and his parents agreed for this surgery with a positive feeling of having an eyesight restored.

But the problem arose for the family when they had to meet the financial expenses of the surgery. Mahantesh parents had already drained out spending for his medical expenditures and recently his father also went through an open heart surgery. This is when the team of doctors at Sankara decided to perform this surgery for free-of-cost, even without charging a single penny from the family.

Post-surgery Mahantesh is keeping well, he has restored 80% of his vision and is very thankful to Dr. Pallavi Joshi, Dr Vinay. Pillai and the other team of doctors.

“My parents were in despair, as their only hope suddenly started to fade away. With no positive results even after consulting various doctors. The doctors at Sankara not only understood my condition but also provided the right help at the right time. I am extremely grateful to Sankara Eye Hospital for giving me a new lease of life.” expressed Mahantesh.

“Tooth-in-the-eye known as (MOOKP) Modified Osteoodonto Keratoprosthesis being a complicated surgery, we have successfully performed it. This case is an example that vision loss isn’t for lifetime and there can be an alternative remedy and resorts vision if properly evaluated and timely intervened says Dr. Pallavi Joshi, Consultant Cornea & Refractive Services, Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore. Keratoprosthesis that is artificial corneal implantation surgeries which are reserved as last option in patients who are bilaterally corneal blind and in whom conventional transplants won’t bring good outcomes. MOOKP surgery is quite complicated and demanding procedure since it takes around 9 months, with gaps of 3 months for each stage. In spite of all this Mahantesh has been very enthusiastic about getting back his vision. His excitement for recovery and family support after few months of counseling sounded as an ideal cause for us at Sankara Eye Hospital to think beyond our limits and follow our true profession, helping anyone in need”.

Sankara Eye Hospital Bangalore has a full-fledged team of doctors trained in managing such complex cases and have a Keratoprosthesis and ocular surface center dedicate for this purpose. Mahantesh is our second such success story, the first Successful MOOKP surgery was done in January 2018 and this patient also doing well.

Surgery Procedure

In this surgery, initial preparation of the ocular surface with oral mucosa is done and patient’s own tooth is harvested and carved into an optical cylinder which is incorporated, this complex is left to disintegrate for 2 months and later inserted into the cornea and covered with the overlying mucosa, resulting in a passage for light to pass through this cylinder and allowing the patient to visualize objects.

Three stages of surgery

·         In the first stage the doctors prepare the patient’s eye by taking a small tissue from the mouth (cheek tissue) called mucosa

·         In the second stage they take the tooth with the surrounding bone and make a central hole in the tooth. They place a cylinder which acts as an artificial cornea also called Keratoprosthesis. The whole complex (tooth and cylinder) is implanted in the patients face under the eye for bio-integrating

·         In the third stage they remove the complex and put it in the eye. The light falls through the central cylinder and patient starts seeing through that