Lost Eye

Losing an Eye

Lost eye can be traumatic and sometimes painful. There are many different ways that people may lose an eye. John Stolpe’s solutions can help. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, nearly 2.5 million people in the U.S. suffer eye injuries, which results in loss of vision or eye loss, every year. Many more suffer vision or loss of an eye due to disease. When trauma or disease strikes, an eye may need to be removed.

Lost Eye Removal

when should an eye be removed

Our experience at Advanced Artificial Eyes is that eyes should only be removed if they are causing a risk to life or pain to the patient. If a healthy eye is left in place, even if it is unseeing, we are able to create a prosthesis with a large amount of mobility. But even in cases of enucleation or exenteration, we can help.

Once an eye has been removed, it’s important that a patient take time to rest and recover. Losing an eye is an extremely difficult time. Psychological therapy is sometimes extremely useful in coping during this period.

Along with emotional healing, a patient will likely have many other concerns. How do you live with eye loss from a practical standpoint? How do you adapt to monocular vision? Walking? Driving? And is it ever possible to feel normal again, like you fit into society? The answer to that last question is yes for many, many patients.

There are 3 types of procedures that are used to remove an eye:

• EVISCERATION- Evisceration is when the inner eye content, iris and cornea are removed, bu the sclera is left behind with extraocular muscles attached. In this case, a scleral shell is a highly suitable prosthesis.
• ENUCLEATION– Enucleation involves removing the eyeball, while the remaining orbital contents are left intact; extraocular muscles are detached and usually reattached to an orbital implant or fat graft. Following this surgery, a patient would be fit with an artificial eye.
• EXENTERATION–  is when the contents of the eye socket (orbit) including the eyeball, fat, muscles and other adjacent structures of the eye, are removed. The eyelids may also be removed in cases of some cancers and infections. A maxillofacial prosthesis is usually recommended.

Lost Eye Advances

Advances in Lost Eye Technology

Thanks to major advances in technology, we are able to reproduce the look of your eye with an incredible amount of detail and fidelity. Our dedicated staff do not stop working for you until we get a solution that is the absolute best possible. One of our patients, JJ, lost an eye at a young age. Please watch his video testimonial to see how normal it truly is possible to look and feel.

Our office is pushing forward the technology of ocular prosthetics dramatically. In the future, we believe the field of ocularistry will be more about shape and movement than it is about color. Read more about our technological advances here. While we are excited about everything we can achieve for a patient on an aesthetic and technical basis, we get the greatest joy out of helping individuals feel better, each and every day. We look forward to talking with you about how we can help you move past your challenges.