Surgeons have come up with a unique surgery for those who are tired of the color of their own eyes. It allows changing the color of the iris by implanting an artificial one.
People with brown eyes often dream of having blue eyes, and gray-eyed people dream of the green iris. Until recently, these people could realize their dream only with the help of special colored lenses. But first, the achieved effect of eye color change is temporary – as long as the person is wearing the lenses. And secondly, the scientists have recently found out that colored lenses are often a real danger to the eye.
American surgeon Dr. Kenneth Rosenthal of the Island Eye Surgicentre clinic in New York invented the technology of implanting an artificial iris, due to which anyone can change the eye color to the one he/she needs. For many years, and not just for a couple of hours. The procedure itself involves 2.8-millimeter corneal incisions and installation of silicone implants.
Doctor Rosenthal needs just about 15 minutes for the surgery of each eye, so patients can theoretically change the eye color during a lunch break, especially since the procedure is performed under local anesthesia. However, a full recovery lasts for a very long period of one to two months. The surgery has already been conducted in various hospitals across the U.S., and its arrival in Europe is only a matter of time.
The artificial iris can be implanted not only for cosmetic reasons. You can use it to correct various eye disorders including heterochromia – different iris color of the right and left eyes or unequal coloring of different parts of the iris in an eye.
