Regional eye centres keen to learn "tooth-in-eye" surgery technique from Singapore

Regional eye centres keen to learn "tooth-in-eye" surgery technique from Singapore
May 25, 2005
By Hasnita A. Majid
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : Eye centres in the region are looking at learning the revolutionary "tooth-in-eye" surgery from the Singapore National Eye Centre.
The unique surgery was performed for the first time in Southeast Asia last February.
Since then, 12 more patients from Singapore and the region - including Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - have undergone the surgery at the centre.
It is one of the very few in the world offering such surgery.
Madam Rosidah Ibrahim, 47, has been almost blind since she was seven years old, following a high fever from typhoid.
She could only see shapes, but that did not stop her from fulfilling her role as a wife, mother and grandmother.
Although she had come to accept that she might never see clearly again, her luck changed last June when she went for the "tooth-in-eye" surgery.
Mdm Rosidah said: "I can see the words, the trees, before that I cannot see the words so far, now I can see...I feel so very happy I can see again and can take care of my family."
She is just one of eight patients who have completed the two-step procedure.
Another four are waiting to undergo the second stage - which is done a few months after the first one.
In the first part of the procedure, a canine tooth and part of the patient's cheek tissue is removed.
The canine tooth is then shaped into a tiny cube and implanted with a plastic cylinder and buried in cheek tissue to grow new blood supply.
During the second stage, the tooth with the implant will be surgically placed into the eye and this will help the patient see as light travels through the implant.
Most are patients who lost their eye-sight through a rare severe allergic reaction or chemical and acid burns.
For 32-year-old Chandana Mirihana, he will be going for his first stage operation on May 28.
Mr Chandana, who had acid flung at him in 2001, is hopeful of the outcome.
"I want to see the world again...actually I would like to do my things on my own," he said.
Associate Professor Donald Tan, Deputy Director of Singapore National Eye Centre, said: "It is taking the most severely damaged eyes which previously would not do any type of operation and coming back to them and giving them vision. What is amazing is that the vision has been extremely good for these patients.
"It is possibly the most difficult type of eye operation that we have done and it is not really available in other countries now. Because most of our patients fly in from the region, it gives us a certain prominence. It shows that we can be an international hub for opthalmic surgery."
Doctors from the Singapore National Eye Centre and the Singapore Dental Centre said at least three patients had near perfect vision after the operations.
The rest are able to see well enough to do daily chores on their own.
The Singapore National Eye Centre's success with the "tooth-in-eye" surgeries has enhanced Singapore's reputation for excellent and innovative eye surgery and research.
In fact, some eye centres in the region are planning to start similar programmes and have approached the centre to assist with their training.
They include those from South Korea and the Middle East.
The Singapore National Eye Centre has set up a study group to look into improving the technique.
This includes looking at other suitable teeth such as the pre-molar tooth or even a polymer to replace the canine tooth.
If using a polymer is possible, then the two-step procedure can be done away with as no tooth will be needed to be extracted.
The procedure is available in other countries like Germany, Italy and most recently in countries like Japan, but so far the highest number of surgeries have been done in Singapore. - CNA/de