When he was a kid watching American movies in Thailand, Jack Titus\u2019 one dream was to become an American. After the model made it a reality a few years ago with a move to Las Vegas, he developed a new dream: To look more like an American. And to him, that meant eyes that weren\u2019t dark like his. <\/p>\n
Colored contacts were OK, but when he started researching other options, he found a type of surgery that could lighten his eyes permanently. <\/p>\n
Three years ago, when the now-32-year-old told his family he was having the procedure, they were shocked. \u201cThey tell me it\u2019s too risky, because you only have one set of eyes,\u201d Titus said. <\/p>\n
Colored contacts, which cover the colored part of the eye with a tinted lens, have been used for cosmetic reasons since the 1940s \u2013 there\u2019s even speculation that myopic Marilyn Monroe may have worn them \u2013 but cosmetic surgery to make a color change permanent is a more recent phenomenon. The trend has been popular in parts of Europe for about a decade but really started taking off in the United States over the past few years after people revealed their dramatic color transformations on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. <\/p>\n
Procedures called iris implants have received US Food and Drug Administration approval for people who are missing part or all of their iris, but no procedure is approved for cosmetic purposes. In January, the American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a warning about the risks of vision loss and complications with two eye color change procedures: iris implants and the one Titus had, called keratopigmentation. <\/p>\n
But when Titus looks in the mirror and sees that his once-dark eyes are now blue-gray, he says, he\u2019s grateful that he had the surgery. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love the result. Every day when I wake up, it\u2019s much more easy for me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
A person\u2019s eye color comes from the iris, the colored ring that shines through the clear cornea. With keratopigmentation, a surgeon will use a needle or laser to make space in the cornea and then injects pigment <\/strong>into the cornea to hide the original color of the iris. The procedure is not reversible, but the color can be tweaked if a patient decides they want a different shade. Some doctors say the color may fade over time and a touch-up may be needed. <\/p>\n Titus\u2019 doctor, Dr. Alexander Movshovich, developed a surgical instrument that creates a tiny channel in the cornea for that injection. <\/p>\n The process is kind of like a tattoo for the eye, but instead of the artist making several channels in the skin to insert pigment, this procedure requires only one or two tiny openings. <\/p>\n Also, pigment can leak out with a tattoo but not with this procedure, Movshovich said, since he closes the channels. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s in a secluded space,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The process can cost about $12,000, and because it\u2019s a cosmetic one, it is not covered by insurance. <\/p>\n Movshovich, whose office in New York also offers typical ophthalmological procedures like LASIK, cataract surgeries and retinal repairs, says he <\/strong>has done nearly 1,000 eye color change surgeries but admits that he initially had doubts about their safety. <\/p>\n About a decade ago, when a friend from France told him about the surgical approach, he didn\u2019t believe it. <\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Bullsh*t, you cannot do it,\u2019 \u201d Movshovich said. <\/p>\n At the time, the only real options to permanently change eye color required a doctor to implant a prosthetic iris over the original or to use a laser to destroy pigment cells in the iris to lighten its color. <\/p>\n Any surgery carries an infection risk, but these particular procedures can also lead to damage to the cornea and vision loss, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. <\/p>\n \u201cBoth of those procedures were total no-nos for me,\u201d Movshovich said. <\/p>\n When he learned about about keratopigmentation, he wanted to know more. Movshovich flew to France, where he watched about a week of surgeries, and says the procedure tapped into all his interests. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a photographer also, and part of this is basically art,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u2018Basically art\u2019<\/h2>\n