Blind man has vision restored after having tooth implanted in his eye

He was left in tears when he made eye contact for the first time in two decades

By virtue of Dr Greg Moloney, Brent has been living in a 'whole new world' since he got his vision back in June of this year.

It turned out that one of his teeth ended up being an unlikely saviour, and even though Brent initially found the idea 'a little science-fictiony', he says the procedure has given him a second lease on life.

The operation, referred to as osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis in the medical realm, took place earlier this year at Providence Health Care's Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver, Canada.

The procedure involved removing a tooth from the patient's mouth and implanting it in their cheek, allowing 'sturdy connective tissue' to swarm it over the period of a few months.

After this time period, the tooth is then removed again, and a hole is drilled into the middle of it, which is where a lens is then placed.

The connective tissue permits it to be held in place while both the tooth and the lens are stitched into the patient's eye socket.

In Brent's case, one of his larger upper canine teeth had to be used as it had to be 'bigger and quite robust to hold the lens'.

The tooth was then flattened and shaped using a drill before being planted back into his cheek in May.

Chapman underwent the procedure a few months later in June.

Many might wonder, 'Why a tooth? '

The medic explained that eye surgeons need a structure which is sturdy enough to hold the plastic focusing telescope in place, but will not be rejected by the body.

"It's a bridging tissue between the body and the plastic (lens) that focuses the light," Dr Moloney explained to Today.com.

"This is like planting a cactus in the desert. This thing is going to survive and it's going to grow."

Brent Chapman was only a teenager (13) when he lost his vision after taking some ibuprofen when he began to feel unwell.

It turned out he had a rare autoimmune reaction to the medication known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which, according to the NHS, is a "serious skin reaction that's usually caused by taking certain medicines."

The Symptoms start as being very flu-like, such as high temperature, sore throat, cough and joint pain, before a rash typically appears a few days later, which is often followed by blisters and painful sores.

However, it can also cause "eye pain or pain when looking at bright lights and problems with your sight."

After spending nearly a month in a coma and suffering burns to his entire body, Chapman's vision unfortunately never recovered.

Brent underwent 50 unsuccessful procedures over a period of 20 years, but was devastated whenever his sight wouldn't subside after each procedure.

However, now Brent can finally make eye contact again.

"I hadn't really made eye contact in 20 years. It felt really euphoric. It was really fantastic."

Chapman now has about 20/40 or 20/30 vision in the eye which was operated on, according to Dr Moloney.