Fed up with your eye colour? Surgeon pioneers new technique to CHANGE the colour of the iris
- Dr Kenneth Rosenthal pioneered the artificial iris implant procedure
- Involves making a 2.8mm cut in cornea and inserting a silicone implant
- It takes 15 minutes per eye and is carried out under local anaesthetic
- Patients usually take between one and two months to make a full recovery
- The procedure is now being offered by clinics across the U.S.
Coloured contact lenses are all the rage and now one surgeon has designed a permanent way of changing people's eye colour.
The procedure, called artificial iris implant, involves inserting a thin, medical grade silicone implant into the eye to alter the appearance of the iris.
It was pioneered by Dr Kenneth Rosenthal, of the Island Eye Surgicentre in Long Island, New York.
A surgeon has designed a permanent way of changing people's eye colour by using a silicone implant
The artificial iris implant can be used for cosmetic reasons but it can also be used to treat some medical conditions, such as heterochromia - a pigment condition which causes a person to have one eye a different colour to the other.
In some cases, the procedure can even be used to restore sight.
For example, in 2011 it was used to treat Nathaniel Schull, 17, who had been partially blind since birth because he was born with congenital aniridia - the absence of irises.
Dr Kenneth Rosenthal has pioneered the procedure which takes 15 minutes per eye and is carried out under local anaesthetic
Following the treatment, he has near perfect vision.
The procedure involves creating a 2.8mm incision in the cornea and inserting a folded implant through it.
Once it is inside the eye, the implant springs back into shape and can be positioned.
The implant's manufacturer, BrightOcular, says it does not affect short or long sightedness meaning people who require glasses still need to wear their spectacles after the operation.
While the surgery is considered to be safe, some patients do develop eye infections, sensitivity to light and inflammation among other complications.
However, BrightOcular say the implants can be removed easily if they are causing problems.
Inserting them takes about 15 minutes per eye and is done under local anaesthetic.
BrightOcular say it takes between one and two months for patients to fully recover from the surgery but that they can usually go home on the day of the treatment.
As with traditional forms of plastic surgery, patients have to take it easy after the procedure - they are not allowed to drive or to lift heavy items for a few days and cannot go swimming for three months.
Artificial iris implants are currently available in clinics across the U.S.
One patient, Chizu, from Japan, said: 'I am not a stranger to cosmetic procedures but this has been the most fulfilling procedure I ever had and probably the last I will ever need.
The procedure involves making a small incision in the cornea before inserting the implant into the eye and moving it into position (pictured)
'I have been wearing colour contacts since my early teens which are very popular in Asia.
'Now people can look into my light baby blues that are really mine! I really feel I now finally found my own unique special identity that sets me apart from the world.'
jckrsna
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Yours
Hiten A. Raja
Nairobi.
KENYA.
Hiten@HitenRaja.com
And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
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