2:07pm UK, Wednesday August 18, 2004

A blind grandmother can see for the first time in 27 years thanks to pioneering surgery which used a piece of her tooth to restore her sight.  

Judith Smith was just 15 when she went blind through illness.

180 doctors surgeons surgery operation

Op is groundbreaking

One of her eyes then had to be removed due to infection, but doctors have now used an amazing new technique to restore the sight in her other eye. 

They took a piece of her tooth and inserted a tiny magnifying glass in it.  

The surgeons inserted the tooth fragment into her cheek until it developed its own blood supply.  

It was then implanted in her cornea, allowing her to see again.  

The operation has allowed Judith, of Redcar, Teeside, to see her three daughters and two grandchildren for the first time.  

She said: "When I first saw them I wept tears of joy and told them how beautiful they are."  

The surgery was carried out at Brighton Eye Hospital.