Color your eyes? It's the new trend in cosmetic procedures

CBS News

31-01-2025

MIAMI - There's a new trend in the world of cosmetic procedures. It's one that permanently changes your eye color.
Videos of Kerato's eye color surgeries have millions of views on social media.
CBS News Miami's Morgan Rynor went into the operating room to see how the color-change procedure works.
She met Army veteran and grandfather John Reyes at their new clinic in Miami. He traveled from Northern California to South Florida to have the procedure after seeing videos of people who have had the procedure on Instagram.
"A couple of years ago, I went through a terrible divorce, and I put on a lot of weight. I wasn't happy with myself. I didn't like the way I felt, didn't like the way I looked," Reyes said.
The 30-minute-long procedure is done while the patient is awake. Dr. Alexander Movshovich is a certified ophthalmologist and clinical professor at Cornell University's School of Medicine. He said the procedure has been around for decades in Europe. "In the United States, I started it five and a half years ago," Dr. Movshovich said.
The surgery starts off with a laser that puts microbubbles of air between the two layers inside of the cornea. "So, laser does it within 10 seconds," Dr. Movshovich told Rynor. The separation of the layers gives Dr. Movshovich a place to put pigmentation. He creates a tiny slit, and then uses instruments that he created and patented to insert the color. Patients can choose from aqua green, hazelnut, honey gold, French blue, magical grey, olive and jade.
For Reyes, he's happy with the results of his procedure. "For me, it does make me feel more confident, you know, and it's something that's, I think it's important. And I think for the longest time, it's been like a taboo for guys to do stuff like this. And I've always said, hey, if you've got the time and you've got the finances and you could do a procedure as a man, go for it," Reyes said. Reyes told CBS News Miami the procedure didn't hurt. He just felt a slight pressure.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology does warn against the procedure, officially known as keratopigmentation. They say the procedure is not worth your good vision. "The risks really have to be weighed against the benefits and the alternatives, and given that it's a cosmetic procedure, the American Academy of Ophthalmology would recommend using a very low-risk colored contact lens alternative instead," said Dr. Ami Vadada, a spokesperson for the organization. "I think there's a path to the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommending the procedure, but I think at this time, the data is just not there to support it for cosmetic reasons."
Dr. Movschovich admits there are some risks. "There is no procedure that's 100% safe. There's some percentage … it should be a reasonable percentage … the percentage of it's not complications. It's like you know, side effects," he said. Dr. Movschovich said those side effects include light sensitivity and some discomfort. But he said it's temporary, lasting less than 72 hours. "But all in all, we don't have any cases of decreased vision. We don't have the cases of blindness," he said.
A procedure like this costs $12,000. Because it's purely for aesthetics, it's not covered by insurance. Dr. Movshovich says the color has lasted for decades for people in Europe who had the procedure. And technically, the color change is reversible. But it requires another procedure that's not as easy as the original procedure, and there are more risks the second time around.