What Is Eye Color Change Surgery Or Iris Implant Surgery?

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Your eye color fully matures in infancy. From this early age, you’ll have naturally brown, blue, hazel, green, or gray eyes for the rest of your life. Some people wear colored contacts to enhance the intensity or change the color of their eyes. Others go to more extreme measures.

A new controversial surgical procedure that permanently changes eye color is gaining traction. The practice, popular among celebrities, uses an artificial iris to drastically alter your eye color in a matter of minutes.

Iris implant surgery was first developed to treat traumatic eye injuries and medical conditions. These include aniridia, when the entire iris is missing, and coloboma, when part of the iris is missing.

During this procedure, the doctor makes a small incision in the cornea and inserts a silicone-based artificial iris, folded to fit into the slit. They then unfold the artificial iris underneath the cornea so that it covers the natural iris. Typically, they’ll use a local anesthetic.

Despite its medical purposes, the procedure has become increasingly popular for cosmetic reasons. Many people opt to undergo surgery to change their eye color, even though their natural iris functions normally.

While eye color change surgery does exist in the form of controversial laser and implant procedures, eye care experts say the safest way to change your eye color, at least temporarily, is with professionally fitted colored contact lenses.

Citing the potential dangers of eye color change surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology advises someone who wants to temporarily change their eye color from, say, brown to blue should see whether colored contact lenses might be appropriate. The organization points out that these lenses should be worn only if they’re prescribed, dispensed and fitted by a qualified eye care professional. These cosmetic lenses can be worn even if you don’t need vision correction.

Cosmetic iris implant surgery is a relatively new and controversial practice that has yet to be scrutinized fully by medical researchers. There is little to no evidence proving the procedure is effective and safe. The procedure hasn’t been evaluated by a regulatory agency in the United States, nor has it undergone clinical trials. Because of this, people must travel overseas to get this surgery.