Prosthetic Eyes: Where Art and Science Meet By M.D. Beck At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Artificial eyes, sometimes also called prosthetic eyes, are a marvel of form and function. While they don't allow a patient to see, they do provide aesthetic value and self-confidence, which are often lost when the eye is lost. People who are missing an eye feel as though they are being stared at because they look different, and it can make them very uncomfortable. Fortunately for them, prosthetic eyes are widely available today and they can be made to fit any face and match any eye color, so that the prosthetic is much less detectable than some artificial eyes were in the past.

Today, prosthetic eyes are made of plastic. They used to be made of glass, but plastic compounds wear better, last longer, and are more durable. They are also easier to make and less expensive. The eyes are made to exact specifications for each person who needs one, and that's done by using a special, pliable compound to make a mold of the socket that the eye will fit into. There are still prosthetic eyes available that are ready-made, though, and they fit most people relatively well. They're much less expensive than the custom-made eyes, so if someone doesn't have insurance to cover the prosthetic eye, he or she will often choose this lower-cost option.

No matter which option is chosen, though, the eye is shaped to fit the socket and it must be hand painted. Machine painting of something like a prosthetic eye doesn't work well because the blend of colors in a person's actual eye is so very unique. In order to match it correctly, a painter has to work with the patient who needs the eye so that a perfect color match can be made. Even for people with dark eyes there are many subtleties, and all of them have to be taken into account. Simply painting a brown, blue, or green circle with a black pupil in the middle will not do justice to the color of a person's actual eye, and will look fake and unnatural.

To avoid something like that, a skilled painter of artificial eyes works diligently to match the color range that a person has in his or her natural eye. Blue eyes may have traces of grey or green, for example, and brown eyes may have greens and tans in them. People with hazel eyes are particularly difficult to match where a prosthetic eye is concerned because there are so many different colors in a hazel eye and because what color the natural eye appears to be can be affected by what the person is wearing. Strong colors bring out the same color in the eye, and a prosthetic eye that has been skillfully painted will offer that, as well.

Today's prosthetic eyes are often so good that it's very difficult to tell that they are not natural eyes. The movement level is restricted and the size of the pupil will not change, but there is usually nothing in the fit or the color match to give away the idea that the eye is a prosthetic. These kinds of eyes have truly come a very long way in a relatively short period of time.

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