John Ings is waiting for an Australian doctor to be taught how to perform a specific eye surgery that implants part of a tooth into the eye to help with a certain type of blindness. 

The procedure known as osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis or ‘tooth in eye’ surgery has been performed in some other countries, but is about to be brought to Australia and 71-year-old Mr Ings is ready and waiting. 

Mr Ings spoke to Peter Bell about his condition and the surgery he is waiting to have, the interview prompted a call from a lady who’s husband travelled to Singapore last year to have the rare operation. 

‘The next morning they took him to the eye room, took his dressings off and they said ‘Can you see anything’, he said ‘No, nothing.’
‘And they cleaned it up, cleaned the lens, took the sort of blood clots off and he turned around to a noise and he said ‘there’s a chap sitting over the other side of the room wear a blue shirt.’ 
At which point I burst into tears and the doctors were jumping up and down and it just got better and better over a couple of months,’ Jan said. 

Listen to both stories here…