Sabrina Shah

Prof. Boyd

ENGL-105i

26 January 2016

Works Cited

“Stroma Medical Procedure – Stroma Permanent Eye Color Change Laser.” Stroma Medical Procedure – Stroma Permanent Eye Color Change Laser. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://www.stromamedical.com/page/physician-info>.

This source was relevant in describing the procedure of the eye color alteration surgery in digestible terms. It describes how the procedure is possible at all due to the layers of pigments of the eye (brown on top, blue underneath). The article continued to describe the non-invasive procedure that utilizes a laser that disrupts the first layer of pigment that causes the body to initiate a slow tissue-removal process of the upper brown-colored layer. Specifically, the patient eye is kept opened by a small device. Then the patient sits in front of the laser and their heads are stabilized. The patient is told to direct their eye toward a 1 cm x 1 cm animation that is 1 foot in distance away from their eye. The laser is activated, and the procedure is completed for that eye. The same steps are taken for the other eye, usually in the same day.

“New Procedure May Turn Brown Eyes Blue : DNews.” Discovery News. Discovery, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://news.discovery.com/human/health/new-procedure-may-turn-brown- eyes-blue-150312.htm>.

This Discovery News article discussed in detail the science behind how the eye color changing process is possible and even quite simple. It talked about how researchers when attempting to create the process found a “sweet spot” of the eye to target with a laser so that the body would then take over the process of tissue degeneration on its own. The sweet spot is where the pigment can be agitated that catalyzes the tissue degenerating effect, without damaging the eye. The article also discusses that the laser is green in color in order to absorb the brown hue of the eye and how the results can be apparent over weeks. It tells of 38 tester participants who received the surgery in one eye in the Stroma lab in Costa Rica; and how the only real potential health threat is glaucoma.

Ceruti, P. “Iris Colour Change after Glaucoma Surgery Associated with Haemorrhagic Choroidal Effusion.” Nature. Nature, 4 May 2007. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nature.com/eye/ journal/v21/n7/full/6702862a.html>.

This article is different as it gives a different vantage point of the eye color changing process and the origins to its discovery. When this article was published in 2007 people were still unaware that the process was possible so when a man received treatment for glaucoma and his iris color altered it was a surprise to the medical world, and for the general population. The procedure (a laser to the iris), was unexpected to have caused the color change in the 56-year-old man’s eye (it altered from green and cloudy to clear and bright blue in hue). It also was a shock to doctors that it did this without hemorrhaging (rupturing blood vessels) the delicate surface of the eye.

“First permanent eye colour change surgery performed in India.” India Pharma News 29 Feb. 2012. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.

This article gave an alternate method of eye color change surgery besides the STROMA laser method by implanting a colored lens inside the eye over the iris. In this alternate method there was a specific procedure done in India to a New Zealand woman who wished to change her eye color from brown to olive green; it was successful. The article also discussed that even though the surgery is believed to provide safe and permanent cosmetic benefits, it is not licensed in Europe and the U.S. due to the risks involved. Furthermore people are traveling to countries like Panama and India where it can be done without restriction.

Meenakshi. (2012, Jun 22). FIRST PERMANENT EYE COLOR CHANGE SURGERY IN INDIA. EHealth, Retrieved from http:// search.proquest.com/docview/1021749842?accountid=14244

This article mostly focussed on eye color change surgery as a solution to known medical issues. The article discusses how the lens implantation technique (used once so far in India), can be used for different people afflicted with defective eye color from albinism, coloboma or other birth defects, for example. It also demonstrates how the surgery can serve as a solution to these problems in people affected with these disabilities or illnesses, versus people who just want the surgery. The article helps to give more real life implications of the surgery, for more than just cosmetic uses.