Custom Ocular Prostheses

An ocular prosthesis (artificial eye) is a custom acrylic shell, artistically designed to replace an eye that has been removed. Our ocularists hand-craft each prosthesis to match your natural eye — the same color and pupil size as your remaining eye, with fine details like tiny blood vessels for a lifelike result.

A prosthesis restores your appearance and confidence. It does not restore sight.

A custom ocular prosthesis is used after an eye has been removed. Common reasons include a traumatic eye injury, ongoing pain in a blind eye, an infection that doesn’t heal with medication, an autoimmune condition, inherited vision loss or severe eye conditions, cosmetic improvement of a blind or disfigured eye, and benign or malignant tumors.

Your surgeon removes an eye only when it’s the best way to protect your overall health.

Before your prosthesis is made, you’ll have surgery called enucleation, the surgical removal of the eye. During this procedure, the surgeon places a small round implant and attaches the surrounding muscles to it, which allows your future prosthesis to move naturally. A temporary shell called a conformer is then placed to preserve the shape and space behind your eyelids while you heal. Your eye typically needs a few weeks to heal before your prosthesis is created.

Your ocularist begins by measuring the eye socket and, if you have a remaining eye, carefully studying its color, tone, and characteristics for an accurate match. They take a gentle impression of the socket and use it to create your acrylic prosthesis — shaping it for a comfortable fit, hand-painting the details, and adding a clear protective coat. Finally, the temporary conformer is removed and your new prosthesis is fitted in its place.