Dr. Gregg Homer (below) says he is able to change brown eyes to blue permanently, without damaging vision, using his new laser treatment.
WANT TO turn those brown eyes blue — permanently?
A California inventor says he has developed a new 20-second laser procedure that will turn brown eyes blue, without damaging vision, for around $5,000.
Gregg Homer, founder of Stroma Medical in Laguna Beach, Calif., told the Daily News he’s already tested the irreversible cosmetic treatment on about 12 volunteers in Mexico, safely removing small patches of brown pigment from at least one eye in each subject.
The dramatic switch is possible because all brown-eyed people have blue-looking orbs under the layer of dark pigment that covers each iris, he said.
“People like the depth of a light eye,” he told The News, citing a company poll of 2,000 patients that found 17.5% would seek the treatment. “Eyes are the windows to the soul, and a light eye is like an open window.”
His plan is to test the full procedure in both eyes of voluntary subjects in about a year, he said. Stroma then hopes to market the treatment outside the U.S. — probably Mexico, Canada and Europe.
Maybe Johnny Depp with brown eyes. Or Salma Hayek?
Homer, a former lawyer who developed the technology with a team of ophthalmologists, is concerned more with safety than celebrity. “We’re testing way more than we need to,” he said. “We could have done everything in a year, but we didn’t want to risk harming any clinical patients.”
Prospective patients should be able to visit a doctor’s office, undergo a quick eye scan and see a rendering of themselves with the predicted shade of their underlying blue eye color. If they opt for the procedure, they’ll sit in front of what look like giant binoculars and watch a 20-second animation as a computer-guided laser breaks down their brown pigment, he said.
“You won’t feel anything,” Homer said. “Your eyes will get a little darker for the first week. Then in two to four weeks, they’ll be completely changed.”
He said he has “no doubt” he’ll get FDA approval in the U.S. — in about three years.
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