$11 Million Surgery to Change Eye Color Gains Popularity

THE cosmetic surgeries They were for a long time a practice more reserved for public figures.

However, in recent years, they have been seen to experience explosive population growth globally. This is due to various reasons, such as the image culture brought by social networks and access to specialized professionals.

In the long list of interventions that seek to modify certain aspects of the body, there is one that is gaining popularity among patients and at the same time controversial in the medical community due to the complications it could cause to health.

This is the keratopigmentation or eye tattooing a treatment that could cost up to $12 million (around 11 million Chilean pesos), according to reports The Wall Street Journal .

Keratopigmentation is a procedure that involves permanently changing the color of the skin. eyes by corneal pigmentation.

During this aesthetic technique, an ultra-precision laser is used to create a small, precise tunnel inside the cornea, where the pigment is then carefully introduced which gives a different color to the iris.

Some clinics performing keratopigmentation emphasize that it is a safe, painless and brief procedure. Patients can choose their eye color, including blue, green and honey.

Only one procedure is required and, as described, the specialist laser used is so precise that it avoids damage to the internal structures of the eye.

Changing eye color is a long-standing practice. According to the WSJ, The Greek physician and philosopher Galen, who lived around 2,000 years ago, performed this practice on people with opaque corneas: He burned the surface of his eyes and then applied pigments, such as pomegranate peel.

Keratopigmentation continued to be used for medical reasons. Roberto Pineda, an ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, told US media that the procedure can add color to the eyes of patients whose corneas are opaque due to disease or trauma.

It was only in the 2010s that we began to see an increase in the number of professionals promising to perform this procedure for cosmetic purposes. However, some experts also question whether this practice is carried out in patients without disease and whether it could cause more dangers than benefits.

The cornea, a transparent outer layer, plays a key role in the eye by protecting it from trauma, infection and other factors that can cause damage.

Using this tissue, ophthalmologists can also examine the inside of the eye and retina, and possibly detect diseases.

José Antonio Gegúndez, secretary general of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology (SEO), explained to EFE this pigmentation in the cornea prevents ophthalmologists from performing eye procedures.

“If a person has a pigmented cornea and needs to have their peripheral retina examined in the future, because they are nearsighted for example, it will be virtually impossible to see them. And if you have to undergo cataract surgery, for example, or glaucoma, the risks of complications are high because the surgeon who has to operate will not be able to see you well,” explains the expert.

According to the specialist, “sufficient scientific evidence” has not yet been gathered to guarantee the safety of this intervention and there have been cases with undesirable results, such as corneal infections And corneal decompensation . The latter could lead the patient to undergo a transplant.

In January this year, the American Academy of Ophthalmology also warned that this technique is linked to serious risks such as vision loss .

“In the case of purely cosmetic eye surgery, it is not worth taking risks when it comes to good vision” said Dr. JoAnn A. Giaconi, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

The organization also assured that “the safest way” to change the tone of the eyes is to use contact lenses which must be prescribed by an eye health professional.