Blind woman regains sight with tooth for an eye

Doctors in the United States have performed a vision-restoring operation that used the 60-year-old patient's tooth.

A rare condition that destroys cells on the eye's surface left Sharron 'Kay' Thornton blind for nearly a decade.

Earlier this month, doctors used a tooth and part of the lining from her cheek to create a 'window' that allows light into the eye.

Thornton who was blind for nine years underwent a first of its kind procedure, known as modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP), at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The procedure implants one of her teeth in her eye, as a base to hold a prosthetic lens.

Thornton was blinded in 2000 by a reaction to a drug she was taking, which damaged her cornea.

"I`m looking forward to seeing my seven youngest grandchildren for the first time," said Thornton.

"We take sight for granted, not realizing that it can be lost at any moment," she said.

"This truly is a miracle."

* Source: Belfast Telegraph.