Soon, anyone can make their eyes blue

Someone thinks it is a waste of $ 5000, but the procedure will help people with heterochromia.

The cosmetic procedure, which involves laser removal of the iris pigment, becomes even closer. CNN reports that tests of this operation were conducted in Latin America, but it is still far from approval in the United States.

From a certain point of view, all eyes are blue: beneath hazel or any other pigment there is always a blue iris. Western civilization considers the blue color of eyes attractive, but it has only a sixth of the population. The color from birth could not be changed either with a scalpel, or with an injection from a medical needle, or with any other tool, and one had to be content with lenses dissatisfied with his natural data. But around November 2011, information about the Californian company Strōma Medical and its founder Gregge Homer began to spread in the news feeds. The doctor of biological sciences suggested removing the pigment with a laser, after which for two weeks the eyes acquired a blue tint.

As explained on the company's website, the procedure takes only a few minutes. The patient sits in front of a special installation, in which his eyelids are fixed in the open position. This is not NewColorIris or BrightOcular - non-invasive surgery, no pricks or holes required. Work on each of the eyes occurs individually. This, by the way, allows to treat heterochromia, a condition in which the iris of the eye has a different color. But it is likely that you still have to adjust both eyes so that the color is as uniform as possible.

Then one of the eyes closes, and the second one needs to look at a certain point, located about 30 centimeters from the face. For half a minute a soft and low-power laser passes the surface of the cornea of ​​the eye. A combination of several varieties of wavelengths is used, Strōma Medical does not name specific numbers to preserve trade secrets. After this operation is performed for the other eye. The laser energy is very small, it is difficult to harm them. The laser beam does not enter the eye and does not reach the retina, but even if it enters, it will not be able to cause damage to the eyesight. This procedure is completed, most often it is not required to be re-executed. In the first few hours, the pupils will be tense, making it difficult to drive and move without the help of outsiders.
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The result does not appear immediately: over the next week, the iris will begin to darken, but after that it will become brighter, showing a hidden natural tint. It is worth noting that it will not necessarily be blue: for some people the color is more gray, for others - a little purple. The procedure does not affect the shade of blue, it depends on the structure of the cornea. Strōma Medical has a technology that allows you to predict before surgery what shade of blue is hidden under a brown iris. The company can even make a collage of the face of a person with his future blue eyes. Fully color will change within 2-4 weeks after laser operation. The procedure is irreversible, at the moment there is no data on the regeneration of the pigment. Strōma Medical claims that even an experienced ophthalmologist will not be able to distinguish blue eyes from birth with corrected pigment.

Some patients have a noticeable limbal ring, comparable to what can be seen in Sharbat Gula on the cover of National Geographic magazine in June 1985. It can not be deleted. If the patient wishes, some find this feature attractive, a ring can be formed during the operation. The whole procedure is effective for people of any nationality, it is possible after correctly performed laser surgery LASIK and PRK and with astigmatism or myopia. Contraindications are problems with the cornea. The recommended patient age is 18 years.


Like the image before kata, this is just an illustration of the process. Photos of real patients Str ma Medical has not yet published.

The expected cost of the operation is approximately $ 5,000. Not everyone likes blue eyes, and to someone this whole idea seems meaningless, but, as noted above, thanks to the efforts of Strōma Medical, eye color correction is possible for people with heterochromia. At the moment, the procedure is not available to everyone, so far only test operations are performed. In particular, 17 Mexicans and 20 patients in Costa Rica underwent correction. The company hopes to complete the tests within a few years. It is possible that somewhere outside the United States a commercial launch will take place at the end of this year, but so far there are no clear plans. Services will be provided by licensees, not by Strōma Medical itself. In the meantime, you can register as a candidate, although the site states that residents of Costa Rica, Mexico, the Philippines, London, Paris, Toronto and Argentina are considered for tests.

The inventor of the technology, Gregg Homer, came up with the idea of ​​a procedure over dinner with his dermatologist friend. They talked about laser pigment removal, and on the way home, Homer wondered how a laser could affect the cornea pigment. Strōma Medical was formed exclusively to work on eye color changing technology, but Homer himself has several other patents in the areas of medical devices, media, communications, and software. This inventor - a versatile person, he began as a studio musician in the late sixties, later, while studying in college, founded a chain of clothing stores. For 20 years, Homer worked in the legal field, and in the nineties he went into science - he was attracted to biology.

Of course, the company's activities are criticized. Experts fear that the withdrawal of pigment may clog the natural channels and thereby increase the pressure in the eye. This condition can develop glaucoma, although such statements require long-term observations. Additional melanin protects against ultraviolet radiation, it is possible that it would be better to leave it in the amount that is embedded in our genes. On the other hand, decorative contact lenses can also be dangerous. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States warns of possible consequences when using them: pain, redness, blurred vision. Some studies suggest that the beauty of blue eyes can only be a stereotype. But the value of Strōma Medical is largely a demonstration of the power of modern medicine: today it is feasible that only ten years ago it seemed impossible.