Sir, I was interested in the letter of Kaur and Nagpal (BDJ 2013; 214: 373) who have missed reading my article, Insertion of an osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis into the human cornea published in 1966.1

Essentially I modified Strampelli's operation. Strampelli secured the small lens into the disc of tooth and bone using 'dental cement'. I thought that this was probably oxyphosphate cement and was not happy using it as it leaches phosphoric acid. Since dentine is elastic, a firm mechanical grip could be attained by carefully engineering the hole in the dentine, initially with burs but later with reamers to get a jamb-fit. Messrs Rayners, the ophthalmic instrument makers, made a set of instruments to do this. There was no problem with dislocation of the artificial lens. In the edentulous patient, a thin piece of costal cartilage acted as the vehicle, a punch being used to cut the appropriate sized hole.

At the time, the article attracted considerable press and media attention with the British Council publicising it worldwide!

The technique, I believe, has been superseded with the advent of silicones.