Eye atrophy and the prosthetic eye

Eye atrophy usually affects one eye, which becomes smaller than the healthy eye and loses its sight.

Causes

• An accident causing retinal detachment or a corneal laceration.
• Some eye operations that lead to loss of vision.

After vision is lost, the cells of the eye begin to shrink, so the eye becomes smaller than the healthy eye. The patient may feel distressed and may be bullied because of the difference in appearance.

Treatment

There is no medical treatment for eye atrophy; treatment is surgical and aims to restore the shape and size of the eye, not its sight. Dr. Mahmoud El Samkary places an implant, then a lens shaped like a natural eye with its white and iris, so the prosthetic eye is hard to tell apart from the healthy eye, although the atrophic eye does not see.

The patient returns to work within two to three weeks.