Now Ocular Implants Change Eye Color Permanently…But Is It Worth the Risk?

It’s the age of customization. Getting things exactly to your specifications is all the rage, but when it comes to genetics what you get is what you get. This leaves some a little unsatisfied when genetics leaves something to be desired. In the past, there was just no changing it, but now nearly every part of the body can be modified, surgically corrected or augmented so that people can have the kinds of physical bodies that they were not able to gain with genetics alone. Even with all the body modification options available eye color remained one of the few things that people could not permanently alter. That is, until now.

Now a few companies have been pioneering and all new way to customize your appearance by creating ocular implants. Ocular implants are colored silicon irises that can be used to permanently change the eye color if you so desire it. Ocular implants are usually inserted through a slit in the cornea and folded out over the existing iris to permanently change the color of an individual’s eye. So, if you’ve dreamed of having baby blue or crazy violet eyes, it can be done…if you’re willing to take the risk.

It should be stated that ocular implants do have medical applications besides just being purely cosmetic. For those born with eye defects like aniridia (having no iris at all) and coloboma (a type of birth defect where tissue in or around the eye is missing) ocular implants can help correct these problems and give patients a better quality of life.

But for those who turn to ocular implants for purely cosmetic reasons should beware. Many medical professionals have indicated that the risks may not be worth it. In fact, those with normal irises are more likely to experience the complications from having ocular implants inserted. Those complications include blindness, cataracts, glaucoma, injuries to the cornea, and inflammation of the iris.

So while changing eye color might seem like one more way we’ll be able to customize our bodies, you may want to consider carefully the risks before seriously considering them.