Lasar Procedure in Mexico Makes Brown Eyes Blue Joseph Scalise - Science Recorder
go to original March 7, 2015

Joyce Evans of Fox 29 shows us about an experimental procedure in development that could change your brown eyes to blue (WTXF/McEachernProds)

In Latin American countries, people are taking body-modification procedures to the next level by altering the color of their eyes.

According to TIME, this is due to a new procedure that, while being used with success in Mexico, has not been approved for the U.S. just yet. However, that could very well change in the near future. This surgery comes from a California-based company called Stroma Medical has been publicizing this procedure for some time. In theory, this would give brown-eyed individuals the choice to change the tint of their irises, much like how plastic surgery works for other parts of the body.

When and if the surgery gets approved for the United States, Americans will be able to undergo it for $5,000. There is some skepticism around the surgery, but according to Stroma Medical, 37 successful treatments have happened so far in both Mexico and Costa Rica. The procedure works by disturbing the thin layer of pigment that exists on the surfaces of all brown irises. This is why it only works for people with brown eyes, as there is a “blue eye” underneath the top color. If this top pigment is taken away, the light hitting the eye will turn it blue.

Although the treatment lasts only 20 seconds, the patient’s eye color does not change immediately. Rather, it takes a few weeks for the human body to remove the pigmented tissue that creates the eyes to turn blue. Less than a fifth of Americans have blue eyes, and studies have shown that there is also a preference for blue eyes that underlies Western culture. As such, it is easy to see why this procedure could be very popular if it ever does become approved. While there are some risks, such as increased chances of Glaucoma, Stroma claims that their surgery is safe.

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