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Boasting about aesthetic touch-ups on social networks has become commonplace: tensioning threads, lip fillers, hyaluronic acid injections and rhinomodeling are something of everyday life on TikTok and Instagram. But the turn of the screw has come with the operation of change of eye color, an incipient intervention in our country not without risks and that has unleashed controversy. It seems that the use of colored contact lenses to get a different shade temporarily is no longer enough, and there are always those who are willing to risk their health and who agree to do so leaving aside their professional ethics.

What methods exist to change the color of the eyes?

If we wanted to change the color of our eyes right now, we would basically find four ways to do it:

  • Pigmented contact lenses. We refer to the classic contact lenses, and we can find them on the market in a wide range of colors. When using them we must follow basic hygiene rules, the same as for prescription contact lenses, and they are by far the least risky method. Of course, the color change will last only the hours we have the contact lens on. As soon as we remove it we will see our eyes of its original color again.
  • Artificial irises. These are pieces of silicone that are implanted intraocularly, inside the eye, through a complex and not without risks. If it gets complicated, we can suffer from an infection to glaucoma due to obstruction of the exit of the aqueous humor of the eye or even a corneal decompensation that can end in cataracts or having to need a transplant in the worst case.
  • Laser depigmentation. The iris is the colored part of the eye, and in this treatment what is sought is to irreversibly destroy iris tissue in order to eliminate its pigment. These pigment granules do not simply disappear, but remain inside the structures of the eye, and among the dangers involved in this technique are the appearance of glaucoma, uveitis, damage to the optic nerve and cataracts.
  • Keratopigmentation. With this procedure a kind of permanent tattoo is applied to the eye. Basically, it consists of changing the color of the cornea, which is the outermost transparent layer of the eye, staining it the color chosen by the patient. In the case of the Spanish influencer who stoked the controversy after showing her aesthetic intervention, this was the method chosen.

But can you choose color?

Withcontact lines, staining and artificial irises it is possible, but not with laser. The resulting color will always be blue, regardless of whether that is the color we are looking for or not, since it is the only one that appears after removing the melanin granules from our iris.

Is laser depigmentation legal?

It is legal to do so, but certainly unethical. Not in vain this procedure is totally discouraged by the Spanish societies of Ophthalmology and lacks scientific evidence to support its use.

What are the risks of the change of color made by the Spanish 'influencer'?

The procedure chosen in this case was keratopigmentation, the staining of the cornea. The first direct consequence of this technique is that the cornea ceases to be transparent, only the central area of the eye, the pupil, is freed. This will hinder from that moment any exploration of the structures inside the eye, complicating even the detection of glaucoma or retinal detachment.

Just to indicate also that the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology consider that this technique carries a high safety risk and indicate that its long-term consequences are unknown.

According to The Trust Project criteria

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