Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Laser technique can turn brown eyes blue!

Image
Press Trust of India Washington
Last Updated : Mar 15 2015 | 1:22 PM IST
A US-based company has developed a 20-second laser procedure that permanently turns your brown eyes blue.
The laser technique, developed by Dr Gregg Homer from California-based Stroma Medical, works by eliminating the brown melanin that is present in the anterior layers of the iris.
The technique is yet to get approval from regulatory bodies in the US, but the company said that preliminary studies show the surgery is safe.
So far, 17 patients in Mexico and 20 in Costa Rica have undergone the treatment.
"The fundamental principle is that under every brown eye is a blue eye," said Homer, adding that there is no actual blue pigmentation in the eye.
"The only difference between a brown eye and a blue eye is this very thin layer of pigment on the surface," Homer told CNN.

Also Read

"If you take that pigment away, then the light can enter the stroma - the little fibres that look like bicycle spokes in a light eye - and when the light scatters it only reflects back the shortest wavelengths and that's the blue end of the spectrum," Homer said.
The company said the treatment disrupts the layer of pigment, causing the body to begin removing the tissue naturally.
While the USD 5,000 procedure takes only 20 seconds, the blue eyes will take several weeks to emerge.
The laser treats only the iris and does not enter the pupil or treat any portion of the inside of the eye where the nerves affecting the vision are located, the company said.

More From This Section

First Published: Mar 15 2015 | 1:22 PM IST

Next Story