Diagnosis dilemma: a man lost his vision in a young man – and the doctor recovered it using one of his teeth

Patient: A 34-year-old man named Brent Chapman of British Columbia, Canada

Medical History: When Chapman was 13, he developed a rare and serious autoimmune reaction after taking the usual dose of ibuprofen. This response, known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, tears the immune system and attacks cells with the skin and mucus membranes. In this case, the syndrome caused severe burn-like damage throughout Chapman’s body, including the surface of his eyes.

His left cornea – a clear dome covering the eyes – was destroyed when one of these injuries became infected, losing most of his vision in his right eye due to corneal damage.

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Over the next 20 years, Chapman underwent over 50 surgeries. It included 10 attempts of corneal implants in the right eye, but most failed. Some surgeries temporarily restored partial vision, but were unable to restore his vision permanently.

What happened next: The doctor proposed a surgical procedure called bone-odonto keratoprostesis, or dental surgery, to restore vision in Chapman’s right eye. This technique has been around since the 1960s, but it has never been performed in Canada before the Chapman incident.

This procedure involves removing one of the patient’s teeth and then embedding them in an eye socket that acts as a platform for a clear plastic lens. The lens stands up due to the injured cornea, allowing light to enter the eyes.

Candidates for dental eye surgery usually have damage to the cornea and healthy retina and optic nerve. In other words, the photosensitivity tissues and nerves behind the eyes still function well. According to a 2022 study of 59 patients undergoing interdental surgery, 94% showed long-term vision retention based on 30 years of follow-up visits.

Treatment: Dr. Greg Moloney, a clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of British Columbia, performed the first phase of surgery in February 2025 with Chapman and two other Canadian patients.

Moloney first removed one of Chapman’s canine teeth and a thin layer of bone that surrounds it. This provided blood and oxygen to the teeth. The teeth were then shaved flat into small blocks and excavated and installed a lens-retaining plastic cylinder. The carved teeth were then implanted into Chapman’s cheeks, allowing soft tissue to grow around it for several months.

Then in June, the teeth were removed and surgically implanted in Chapman’s right eye. Because the teeth and surrounding soft tissue come from the patient, the body is less likely to reject implants for the tooth of the eye.

Shortly after the surgery, Chapman was able to perceive movement. His vision gradually became visually distorted, and he underwent another surgery in August to correct the lens placement. Later that month, a test using correction glasses showed him vision of 20/30. The object visible at 30 feet (9 meters) for those with perfect eyesight was focused on a 20 feet (6 meters) Chapman.

What makes the case unique is that dental eye surgery is considered a last resort for blindness caused by corneal damage. Multipart operations take more than 12 hours, do not count the time the tissue grows around the cheek teeth, and few experts perform it all around the world.

The doctor previously performed dental eye surgery in Australia, Chile, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US. To date, only a few hundred people have received the procedure.