Changing Eye Color: An Unnecessary Risk to Consider
What vanity doesn’t do to people. Nowadays, there are those who are changing the color of their eyes in a risky procedure called keratopigmentation. Permitted in Brazil, the surgery is only performed in specific situations, explains Pedro Carricondo, director of the Emergency Ophthalmological Service at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of USP. “Keratopigmentation is basically the application of a dye, a paint, to the cornea. With this you will promote a change in color.”
If not carried out by a professional, the procedure may present a condition of corneal infection. This happens because several holes are made in the eyes, which can eventually reach an inadequate depth and contribute to an infection inside the eye, endophthalmitis. It can also present a very intense inflammatory process of the cornea, which can begin in a process called melting, known as melting , in addition to an inflammatory condition inside the eye, which is uveitis. As it presents relatively serious consequences, this keratopigmentation procedure is not recommended for aesthetic purposes in people with healthy vision.
Visually impaired
Eye coloring, in general, is performed on those who cannot see. In that patient who became blind, where the cornea has a structural change and appears whitish. In this case, the aim is to leave it with a color closer to the other eye. It can also be performed on those who have a problem with their iris or on people who lost their iris in an accident and were born without it, in a condition called aniridia. But even in these cases, first try using a colored contact lens, which filters out excess light.
There is great concern about changing eye color by non-specialized people, highlights Carricondo. “We are very concerned about the procedure being performed for aesthetic purposes, especially by non-medical people. It is a procedure that has many complications, so it must be very well planned, very well thought out. An eye exam is necessary. Check the cornea, the eye, if there is any predisposition to inflammation. The color change needs to be done by someone who knows the anatomy of the cornea to know how deep it can go, the regions where this pigment can be applied. This procedure must be performed in a sterile surgical environment with a microscope and adequate anesthesia. It’s not meant to be done anywhere.”
Finally, he warns: “Unfortunately, some places are willing to carry out this type of procedure and not always with adequate, sterile instruments, with the correct needle. Sometimes this is done with a small machine, which leads to eye perforation, as the device does not regulate the correct depth. The dye can also be injected into the eye, which is a very serious problem. We see people losing their eyes because of this.” Opera summary: there is no completely safe procedure for changing eye color.