Singapore Gives New Sight to the Blind( Singapore Na...),Health

Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) has given new sight to 25 blind patients with 100 percent success through a medical procedure called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, or tooth-in-eye.

Singapore (PRWEB) March 24, 2009 -- The Singapore National Eye Center (SNEC) has given new sight to 25 blind patients with 100 percent success through a medical procedure called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis, or tooth-in-eye.

This procedure is highly complex and is to date only performed in two Western European countries, Singapore, India and Japan.

"The tooth-in-eye surgery is a difficult operation that is done in two stages and requires a team of 15 specialists from the radiology, dental and eye division," says Professor Donald Tan, Head of Corneal Service and Director at SNEC.

The procedure was first developed in Italy back in the 1960s but due to its complexity was only resurrected in recent years.

"We have successfully restored vision to the most severe cases of patients who had been blinded in accidents and chemical burns. Some suffered from Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), while others have had multiple corneal graft failures. In all our cases, maximal visual potential has been achieved," said Prof Tan.

SJS is a life-threatening condition which is often brought on th
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