Eye Prosthesis

Prosthetic eyes are used for many reasons but usually are meant to help improve the appearance of people who have lost an eye due to injury or disease or restore normal orbital volume and shape. Here are the various types of eye prostheses:

Conformers are clear shields that are used as a temporary covering after surgery. It helps with the transition to a more permanent artificial eye that is received later. This allows the eye socket to heal and be protected.

Prosthetic eyes are made of acrylic and are meant to resemble your eye perfectly so others won’t notice it is artificial. It is shaped to allow normal eyelid and tear duct function. This usually replaces the conformer once made and can be worn full-time.

Scleral shells are made for eyes that are disfigured in some way to restore the natural appearance of the eye. It is made with the same material as an artificial eye, it is just made smaller to restore normal orbit shape.

An orbital prosthesis is a larger prosthesis made of silicone and is used to restore the appearance of eyelids and socket volume. It is shaped to match the normal facial structures and colored to match the skin. It is held in with an adhesive or magnetic attachment. 

Surgically implanted irises are created to help treat diseases like albinism or challenges from melanoma. They create a pupil to reduce photophobia for patients also challenged with partial absences of the iris.

Soft contact lenses are also made for patients with disfigurements in their eyes, usually affecting the iris. 

References:

https://nweyedesign.com/5-types-of-artificial-eyes/ 

https://www.clspectrum.com/issues/2019/december-2019/prosthetic-eye-options