New Procedure May Turn Brown Eyes Blue

The idea to use lasers to turn brown eyes blue was born in an unlikely place: a dermatologist's office.

Driving home after having some pigment spots removed from his skin by laser, Gregg Homer wondered what would happen if you used a similar laser on the eyes.

An inventor who had a Ph.D in biology, Homer did a little research and quickly realized the potential of the idea: a study in the 1980s had shown that underneath every brown eye is a blue eye. And that brown layer, Homer discovered, appeared to be superficial enough that it could, theoretically, be removed.

"I went back to my dermatologist and said, I've got a question for you," Homer told Discovery News. "What would happen if you used this on an iris?"

The dermatologist eventually joined his board of investigators, and now, almost 20 years later, the surgery is going through human testing in Costa Rica via Homer's company called Stroma.

The original idea, that the frequency of the green laser is such that it passes straight through the cornea and is only absorbed by dark color, makes it "incredibly safe and incredibly differentiating," Homer said.

The change isn't immediate; the laser is set at a low energy so that the blue eye is revealed over a couple of weeks.

While there have been no adverse effects in the 37 people who have had one eye treated in trials outside of the U.S., Homer said, it's too early to say for certain what long-term effects the procedure could have. Ophthalmologists say the primary health concern, at least theoretically, is glaucoma.

"Maybe you don't see it immediately, but 10 years down the road it could be a public health problem," Dr. Ivan Schwab, an ophthalmologist and clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, Davis, told Discovery News.

"I wouldn't completely dismiss the procedure; I'm not going to tell you it won't work, but my biggest concern is long-term problems," he added.

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New Procedure May Turn Brown Eyes Blue