Doctors in England restored the eyesight of a blind man by inserting his son's tooth into his eye. Bob McNichol, 57, was blinded two years ago at an aluminum explosion.

"I thought that I was going to be blind for the rest of my life," McNichol told RTE state radio, AFP reported.

When doctors at University College Hospital Galway were unable to provide any help to him regain his eyesight, McNichol found out about a unique surgery called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP).

OOKP was first performed in Italy in the 1960s, involves creating an artificial cornea by using the patient's tooth and surrounding bone as a support. He found out that the surgery was now performed by Dr. Christopher Liu at the Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton, east Sussex.

McNichol's 23-year-old son Robert donated a tooth, its root and part of his jaw for his father's surgery. The tooth was removed, chiseled through and a lens was placed in its core. It was then inserted into McNichol's right eye after a series of operations lasting a total of 15 hours.

The procedure is applied to patients where a corneal transplant is impossible so doctors use a tooth (usually a canine) to reshape it to grip a tiny lens. Doctors suggest using a tooth as there are chances the eye would reject a plastic equivalent. The entire unit is then stitched into place behind a skin graft over the eye.

After a series of surgeries lasting months, McNichol's sight was finally restored in his right eye. His left eye could not be repaired as it was badly damaged.