Martin Jones’ eyesight was restored with the help of one of his teeth.
Martin Jones, now 42, was blinded when a tub of molten aluminum flew into his face while he was working in a scrap yard 12 years ago.
He had never been able to see his wife, Gil, in eight years of marriage.
Then surgeons performed a crazy operation that allowed him to see again.
The first thing Martin wanted to see was his wife, after they removed his bandages.
He describes it this way:
“And it was like looking through water, and then I saw this figure, and it was her. It was unbelievable.
She looked so beautiful.
It was a fantastic feeling to be able to see again. I can’t describe it, it’s indescribable.”
In the accident, Martin had burned 37% of his skin. After all, he had had 600-degree Celsius aluminum on his body.
He had to wear a full-body bandage 23 hours a day.
His left eye was so badly damaged that it had to be removed.
The doctors were able to save his right eye. But he could no longer see anything.
He feared that he would remain blind forever. But then the doctors decided he was eligible for a particular surgery.
One of his canine teeth was removed. A tiny hole was drilled into it, into which a special optical lens was inserted.
The tooth was then placed in Martin’s cheek for three months to allow new tissue and blood vessels to form. The lens was then inserted into the hole and the tooth was placed in his right eyeball.
The surgery was performed by Brighton surgeon Christopher Lui, the only surgeon in the UK to use this procedure.
This is a really crazy and creative operation.
It took 2 weeks and then Martin could see for the first time in 12 years.
The implant guides light into the eye via the lens. And that restores his vision.
Apparently, the nerve had remained intact.
Martin says that people think he is kidding them when he tells them.
And that his eye looks like that of an alien.
The result was not very aesthetic, because he looks like a creepy demon.
But he can see again.
