14 DAY TRIAL // Inventor Gregg Homer has created a laser that can be applied on a brown eye, depigment it and turn it blue. The procedure is not available just yet, but it's already causing heated debate among critics and those who are dreaming of getting it one day.
Brown-eyed people already have an option of making their eyes blue, but it involves the use of contact lenses which can lead to complications if not handled correctly. They certainly do imply a bit more effort on the part of the wearer.
Homer is promising a permanent solution for these people, but it involves going under the “knife” or, better yet, under the laser. He calls it the Stroma technology.
Studies so far – Homer says he's done the procedure on 17 people with excellent results – don't indicate negative effects but, in all fairness, they can't speak for long-term damage to the eye.
It's precisely this that critics are using as argument against having the procedure done: not knowing what will do to your eye in a few years' time should be enough for you to convince you vanity isn't worth the risk.
“We just don’t know if this is going to leave long-term damage. The risk really isn’t worth it for a cosmetic effect,” Dr. Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist in London and professor at the University of California, LA, tells the Daily Mail.
Comparing the Stroma technology to laser interventions already in use (and which enjoy a lot of popularity) is like comparing apples to oranges, Dr. Lowe further explains.
The two differ both in purpose and execution.
“The basic rule of thumb is that as soon as you go inside the eye with a laser, you can cause more damage,” Dr. Mark Korolkiewicz, optometrist and clinical services director at Ultralase, says for the aforementioned publication.
“We only use lasers on the cornea, the surface of the eye. This new treatment involves using a laser inside the eye,” he adds.
All the same, Mr. Homer insists the Stroma technology is basically harmless. After testing, it will become available in most territories (in 18 months, estimates say), for anyone willing to pay $5,000 (€3,638) for it.