[NFBofSC] A decade after losing her sight, a B.C. woman can see again — through her tooth

Tue Aug 12 09:41:45 UTC 2025

Thank you so much for sharing!!!

Melinda Jones
National Federation of the blind of South Carolina
“ alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”. Helen Keller

On Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 05:17 Steve Cook via NFBofSC <nfbofsc at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> Original Source
> <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tooth-in-eye-surgery-corrects-vision-loss-1.7602011>
>
>
>
> *British Columbia <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia>*
> A decade after losing her sight, a B.C. woman can see again — through her
> toothGail Lane was among Canada's first round of tooth-in-eye surgery
> patients, calls it a success
>
> Jacqueline Gelineau
> <https://www.cbc.ca/author/jacqueline-gelineau-1.7593702> · CBC News · Posted:
> Aug 09, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 10
>
> [image: A woman hugs a black dog on a sofa.]
>
> Gail Lane was able to see the wagging tail of her partner's service dog,
> Piper, after 10 years without sight — thanks to a new surgery method that
> involves implanting a tooth into a patient's eye socket. (Submitted by Gail
> Lane)
>
> After 10 years without sight, a Victoria, B.C., woman saw her partner's
> face and her dog's wagging tail this year for the very first time, thanks
> to a tooth surgically implanted into her eye socket.
>
> Gail Lane, 75, was one of three Canadians to undergo the rare tooth-in-eye
> surgery, technically called osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis, in February.
>
> Lane lost her sight ten years ago due to complications from an auto-immune
> disorder that caused scarring to her corneas.
>
> In the weeks that followed the complex two-part surgery, she gradually
> regained her ability to see.
>
> [image: A woman holds a dress in a bedroom.]
>
> Gail Lane usually relies on a volunteer-driven app to help pick out her
> clothes, but says she can select her own outfits. (Submitted by Gail Lane)
>
> First, Lane said, she was able to see light. Then, she could see movement
> and the wagging tail of Piper, her partner's service dog, became
> perceptible.
>
> Eventually, Piper the black Labrador came into focus, as did bits of the
> world around her.
>
>
>
> "I can see lots of colour and I can see outside now. The trees and the
> grass and flowers, it's a wonderful feeling to be able to see some of those
> things again," said Lane.
>
> She met her partner Phil after she lost her sight, and had never seen his
> face before. Nearly six months after the tooth in eye surgery was
> completed, Lane saw him for the first time.
>
> *LISTEN | Canada's first tooth-in-eye surgery patient can see:*
>
> *On The Coast*Canada's first tooth-in-eye surgery patient can see
>
> Gail Lane was among the the first Canadians to undergo tooth-in-eye
> surgery to regain her vision. We check in with how phase two of that
> surgery went.
>
> "I'm starting to see facial features on other people as well, which is
> also pretty exciting," said Lane.
>
> She hasn't been able to see her own face in detail yet, but hopes that too
> will come with time — aided by a new pair of glasses that she will be
> receiving soon.
>
> And Lane can now pick out her own outfits without help from a volunteer
> app service called Be My Eyes, which she had relied on to ensure her
> clothes matched.
> First in Canada
>
> While the surgery has been done in other parts of the world,
> ophthalmologist Dr. Greg Moloney from Vancouver's Mount Saint Joseph
> Hospital was the first to bring the operation to Canada.
>
> "It's a complex and strange operation, but it basically involves replacing
> the cornea," said Moloney.
>
> [image: A grey-haired man in a suit sits next to a computer in front of an
> eye exam chair and machine.]
>
> Dr. Greg Moloney is an an ophthalmologist and surgeon at Mount Saint
> Joseph Hospital in Vancouver. ( Providence Health Care)
>
> He said the surgery begins by removing a tooth from the patient's mouth.
> The tooth is then implanted into their cheek for several month, until it is
> encompassed in strong connective tissue.
>
> Both the tooth and connective tissue are then removed, and a plastic
> focusing telescope or lens is inserted into it. Using the connective tissue
> as an anchor, the tooth and new lens are sutured into the patient's eye
> socket.
>
> "We need a structure that is strong enough to hold onto the plastic
> focusing telescope, but is not going to be rejected by the
> body," Moloney explained.
>
> [image: A bloody tooth with a hole drilled into it next to a ruler showing
> it's about 1.5 centimetres long]
>
> Osteo-Odonto Keratoprostheseis — or as it’s more commonly known,
> tooth-in-eye surgery — involves removing a patient's tooth, drilling a hole
> in it and using it as a casing for a small lens. (Greg Moloney/Providence
> Health Care )
>
> Lane said the surgeries and recovery were uncomfortable but not painful.
>
> "It's been a long, it's been a long wait, but well, well worth it."
>
> Lane said she is most excited to have her independence back.
>
> "I'm hoping to have more mobility and independence in terms of short trips
> and walks here and there where I don't always have to have someone's arm
> for me to grab onto."
>
> "I'm just looking forward, really, to seeing what I can do or do again —
> and trying to just be patient and let my brain adjust a bit because that's
> another big part of this."
> ABOUT THE AUTHOR
>
> Jacqueline Gelineau
> <https://www.cbc.ca/author/jacqueline-gelineau-1.7593702>
>
> Journalist
>
> Jacqueline Gelineau is a CBC journalist based in Salmon Arm. She can be
> reached at jacqueline.gelineau at cbc.ca.
>
> *With files from CBC's Radio West*
>
> CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
> <https://cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/vision/governance/journalistic-standards-and-practices>
> ·About CBC News <https://www.cbc.ca/news/about-cbc-news-1.1294364>
>
> Corrections and clarifications
> <https://www.cbc.ca/news/corrections-clarifications-1.5893564>·Submit a
> news tip
> <https://www.cbc.ca/news/email-cbc-contact-phone-tips-news-story-1.6466536>
> ·Report error
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