A blind British man was able to see his twin sons’ faces for the first time after a surgeon transplanted a tooth that restored his vision.

Ian Tibbetts, 43, began losing his vision 16 years back. The vision was lost when a piece of scrap metal from an oven hit his right eye, destroying his cornea at six different places.

Earlier Mr. Tibbetts was able to see through his left eye, but a year after, the complications increased and he became completely blind.

He admitted that he had undergone many unsuccessful treatments so as to get his vision back. The tooth surgery was known as osteo-ondonto-keratoprothesis (OOKP). It was carried out by Professor Christopher Lio at the Sussex Eye Hospital. However, the surgery was not only complex, but it was lengthy.

A lens is placed in a hole drilled in through the patient’s tooth prior to the tooth being placed under the eye socket to grow into a tissue. The tooth is left there for a number of months before being implanted in the eye. There is no chance of rejection because the tooth is part of the patient’s body.

When Mr. Tibbetts was asked to express the moment when he saw the faces of his son for the very first time after the operation, he stated the moment as it was like “ecstasy”.