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Women sees with tooth.
Wow.
The multistage procedure began in March when Dr. Yoh Sawatari, a dental surgeon at the University of Miami Medical School, extracted the tooth -- coincidentally, it was Thornton's eyetooth, also called the canine tooth -- shaved it flat horizontally, drilled a hole in it and inserted an acrylic lens. He implanted the tooth/lens prosthesis under the skin inside her cheek, intending to leave it there for three months so the combination could heal together. Unfortunately, she developed a sinus infection, so he had to remove it and re-implant it under a pouch of skin in her upper chest.
Meanwhile, an eye surgeon removed scar tissue lining her damaged cornea.
A month later, surgeons removed a patch of skin from the inside of her cheek and laid it over her cornea to replace the moist tissue lost to the disease.
Two months after that, Perez extracted the tooth-lens combination from her chest, cut a flap out of the skin over the center of her cornea, cut a hole down into the eye and inserted the tooth-lens. He sewed the flap shut to hold in the tooth-lens and cut a tiny hole so the lens can protrude a couple of millimeters out of the eye.
On Labor Day weekend, bandages were removed and Thornton was able to recognize faces within two hours. A couple of days later she asked her Smithdale friend and caretaker, Rick Brister, to drive her around Miami to see the sights.
Meanwhile, an eye surgeon removed scar tissue lining her damaged cornea.
A month later, surgeons removed a patch of skin from the inside of her cheek and laid it over her cornea to replace the moist tissue lost to the disease.
Two months after that, Perez extracted the tooth-lens combination from her chest, cut a flap out of the skin over the center of her cornea, cut a hole down into the eye and inserted the tooth-lens. He sewed the flap shut to hold in the tooth-lens and cut a tiny hole so the lens can protrude a couple of millimeters out of the eye.
On Labor Day weekend, bandages were removed and Thornton was able to recognize faces within two hours. A couple of days later she asked her Smithdale friend and caretaker, Rick Brister, to drive her around Miami to see the sights.
