Surgeons restore blind mans sight using one of his teeth

A blind man has seen his wife for the first time following revolutionary surgery which helped restore his sight using one of his teeth.

Martin Jones, has, for the first time seen his wife, following an operation performed by surgeons in Brighton, East Sussex, England which restored his sight using his canine tooth to cultivate new tissue and blood vessels. Martin, 42, was blinded 12 years ago following an accident where a tub of molten aluminium exploded in his face while he was working in a scrapyard. He married his wife Gilly, 50, 8 years later and until now has been unable to see her - until surgeon Christopher Lui, the only person in the UK who carries out the procedure performed the rare surgery necessary for him to see again. Martin suffered 37 per cent burns, the result of which caused him to lose the sight in his right eye and his left eye was so badly damaged it needed to be removed. One of his teeth was extracted and a small hole was drilled into it to accommodate a special optical lens. The tooth was then in planted into Martin's cheek for three months whereby new tissue and blood vessels grew. The lens was then fitted into the hole and the tooth was inserted into his eyeball. Within a few weeks Martin could see for the first time in 12 years. The implant works via the lens allowing light into his eye which restores the vision. He told the Sun in a report today: "The doctors took the bandages off and it was like looking through water and then I saw this figure and it was her. It was unbelievable." "She looked so beautiful. If felt fantastic getting my sight back. I can't describe it, it is beyond words." "The first car I saw when my sight was restored was a Smart car and I couldn't stop laughing. I thought someone had chopped the car in half. "Getting my sight back has changed my life. I used to walk with a white stick but now I find pleasure in being able to see what is going on in the world."