How does an Artificial Eye Work

An Artificial Eye ready to be given to a patient.

Most of the time, patients who needs an artificial eye would ask me things like "How does an Artificial Eye work?", or "Is fitting an Artificial Eye like having a surgery?", etc. Hopefully by the end of this article, I'm able to show how simply getting an Artificial Eye is, and that there is no need to be worried when getting a new one.

What is an Artificial Eye?
An Artificial Eye, or a Prosthetic Eye, is a type of prosthesis commonly used by people who lose their eye due to an accident or an eye disease. The Artificial Eye's primary function is to make it look like the natural eye was never removed.  

Another function is to time maintain the shape of your eye socket. People who've had their eyes removed and did not wear any prosthetic eye will notice their eye socket being smaller as the years pass. 

How does an Artificial Eye work? 
​Let's start with getting fitted with an Artificial Eye. The fitting usually does not require surgery, nor is it painful. 
For someone who has had their eye removed, an Ocularist will design a Prosthetic Eye that will sit inside the eye socket stably and comfortably—at the same time, making sure that the Prosthetic Eye will look straight and does not rotate more than 45 degrees. 

Afterward, the Ocularist may also have the ability to paint the Artificial Eye to make the color of the prosthesis closer to the natural eye. 
Once the prosthesis is finished, the Ocularist then fits the prosthetic eye and makes adjustments if necessary. 

After all, is done, the Ocularist will do the final do's and don'ts in handling the prosthetic eye. Putting in and removing the Artificial Eye is very easy and usually does not require a long training time. 
As for the caring, the user does not need to do much when caring for the prosthetic eye as it is highly recommended to remove the prosthesis rarely. Cleaning may be Depending on the case and the chance for infection. The user usually may only need to clean the prosthesis every 3 to 6 months.   

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