COLOURED IRIS IMPLANT AT THE “CLINIQUE OPHTALMOLOGIQUE DU LAC”

The coloured iris implant is proposed to patients who wish to change their eye colour for aesthetic or medical reasons.

Initially it was designed for a purely medical reason to treat heterochromia, and ocular albinism  to protect the eyes from the harmful effects of the light and the sun, and also to deal with iris defects such  as a coloboma, serious atrophy of the iris and iridoschisis

The implants are made from ophthalmological quality silicon which has been used safely for several decades in ophthalmology.  They are guaranteed for life and are well tolerated by the human eye.  The patient can keep it for as long as he wishes. A medical checkup is recommended every 6 months.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

A pre-operational assessment is indispensible to determine if the patient can  safely benefit from this operation.  The assessment consists of:

A Consultation with the anaesthesists:

And to verify whether there are any contra-indications for this operation: a complete medical history of the state and health of his eyes, an examination of his general eye sight ( including visual acuity and refraction with and without glasses, intra-ocular pressure and gonioscopy of the interior angle……..).

For further details on this examination, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Avoid wearing  rigid or flexible lenses for at least 3 weeks before your assessment\;

Avoid make-up and make-up removers 48 hours before the operation;

According to the recommendations of the anaesthesist it is indispensible to be fasting on the day of the operation.

You must be fasting

Short general anaesthesia is used

On average the duration of the operation is 15 minutes per eye.

The outpatient treatment usually lasts half a day.

Both eyes are treated at the same time.

Sight will be cloudy and blurry and a halo will form which will disappear progressively after 3 or 5 days.  The eyes will suffer from glare but this feeling is often moderate, tolerated and regressive.                                                                           .

Redness or irritation may occur after the operation which will disappear after 3 to 5 days.  You are strongly advised NOT to rub the operated eye during the first few weeks after the operation, in conformity with the surgeon’s instructions.

You can go back to work after one week or 10 days. Sports activities can be resumed after two weeks.  Rigorous monitoring and a clinical examination by an ophthalmologist  is essential every 6 months  for as long as the implant is inside the eye to make sure that the implant is being well tolerated in the very long run.

The coloured iris implant is also subject to the same general rule whereby there is no surgery without risk.  Even if the risk is very low, benign complications are still possible.  If the patient does not tolerate the implant  then it can be withdrawn without any sequelae.

You can send us your questions by contacting us.