Today we must ask ourselves how far are people willing to go to change their bodies permanently? In the near future, Strōma Medical Corporation is hoping to offer a procedure to the general public that can permanently change eye color from brown to blue. According to medical research, people born with brown eyes truly have blue eyes, but due to a layer of pigment on top of the iris, their eyes are seen as brown.  With this extra layer of pigment, people with brown eyes have better eyesight due to their ability to absorb more light and therefore, they are less sensitive to light. This leads us to ask what complications or dangers may be caused by gradually “removing” this layer of pigment.

According to Strōma Medical Corporation, its 20-second laser procedure is non-invasive. No adverse effects have been reported based off of their few clinical trials. It also claims this procedure has no effect on vision, which may be seen as a negative for people who hope to improve their eyesight. Others believe this procedure may cause pigmentary glaucoma, a disease that could lead to blindness if left untreated. This disease starts as pigment dispersion, which occurs when the pigment in your iris sheds into clear fluid produced in the eye.  If the pigment flows to the eye’s drainage canals, they can become clogged and therefore increase pressure. This increase in pressure can seriously damage the optic nerve, the part of the eye that sends images to the brain, therefore causing blindness if the pressure is not treated.

Although many people are willing to take extreme measures to change their bodies, it is important that side effects of such a procedure are considered before it is available to the general public. Strōma Medical Corporation is currently completing clinical trials and if their laser procedure is proven to be safe and effective, it could be available to you in the upcoming year (for a hefty price, of course).