“Canine tooth to restore vision?” is what Bakridi asked Dr Sonia Nankani, consulting eye surgeon at the Bombay hospital, and a team of doctors from the hospital’s Taparia’s Institute of Ophthalmology, after he was told that the surgery — technically known as ‘osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis’ (MOOKP) — would be performed on him. In fact, the the doctors even performed the surgery on his left eye completely free of cost.

Bakridi — sole bread winner for his family of eight — had ulcer in both his eyes and complained of poor visibility for 20 years. He lost the vision in both eyes since last two years ago. Prior to his operation at the Bombay Hospital, Bakridi had three corneal transplants in Rajawadi Hospital and two in Sion Hospital, however all the attempts failed and was forced to sit at home.

“Since his retina was intact— a prerequisite for MOOKP operation — we went ahead with the surgical procedure which went on for four to five months,” said Dr Nankani. After examining the retina, a team of doctors performed the surgery in two stages which concluded on January 3. In the first stage, patient’s upper canine tooth was extracted with entire root and a part of jaw which was used to fashion a cube plate with a hole drilled through the middle. It was cemented with polymethyl metha acrylate to form the prosthesis. The new prosthesis was temporarily placed in a pocket below the skin of the eye to allow covering over the prosthesis.

The patient’s damaged cornea was replaced with a patch of tissue called buccal mucous membrane from the inside of the patient’s cheek that created a new surface for the eye from upper lid to lower lid.

After three months when the patient’s body got familiar with the prosthesis, the cheek tissue covering the eye’s surface was raised and a hole was made through the centre of the scarred cornea. Surgeons then remove the iris, the lens and the jelly of the eye that lies behind the cornea. The implant was then extracted from a pocket below the skin of the eye and then it was inserted into the hole and was sewed it firmly in place. The cheek tissue was lowered back to cover the eye again.

Munna Kanur — Bakridi’s mother — is unaware of the complicated surgery her son underwent, but is ecstatic. “He can identify colours and can see things vaguely. Allah has given him a new life,” said a visibly content Kanur.

However, doctors at the hospital are holding back their excitement till the patient recovers completely. “More than 20 such surgeries have been conducted in Chennai and few parts of the world. All have reported success rate of 80 per cent. However, it is too early for us to label this one as a cent percent successful surgery as it would require a lot of follow-ups,” said Dr Nankani.