back to article If thine brown eye offend thee, blast it with a laser

Those who wish they'd been born with blue eyes may shortly have access to a innovative laser technique that will burn the melanin off the front of their irises and turn them blue. Dr Gregg Homer of Laguna Beach in California is seeking funding of £500,000 to start a human trial of the eye colour changing procedure which he has …

COMMENTS

This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Winkypop Silver badge
    Alert

    Eye surgery from a Dr Homer

    Doh!

    Would YOU risk it?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How can they question his claims

    He was, after all, an entertainment lawyer.

  3. Cihatari

    Turning your brown eye blue?

    Hopefully it was not just me who was thinking at first glance that this article was all about a new form of anal bleaching, with lasers! FROM THE FUTURE!!

  4. David Paul Morgan

    Dr who did this first..?

    ... to Leela. Actress had blue eyes, but Leela had brown, so she had to wear lenses, until her eyes were flashed from brown to blue.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I fully expected this story to be NSFW

    I am very dissapointed by this articie, 'blasting the brown eye' normally has a very different meaning.

    I shall be writing to my MP and setting up a tent outside St Paul's this very afternoon.

  6. Pat 11
    Facepalm

    Baby Blues

    Many babies are born with Blues which later turn brown - perhaps these are the ones that can "benefit" from this surgery.

    The only benefit I can see for it is that if you have pale eyes you can wear contacts in unnatural colours like indigo, these don't really work on dark eyes.

  7. QuinnDexter
    Facepalm

    Would you let someone called Dr Homer shoot you in the face with a laser? "Just cross your fingers and wish really really hard that you'll still have vision after this and you'l be fine"

    And like Cihatari I was at first confused - what use could a blue arsehole have beyond Smurf porn?

  8. ratfox
    FAIL

    "What’s to ensure there’s definitely blue pigment underneath?"

    And they call that a doctor? There is no blue pigment. Eyes appear to be blue because of funky Rayleigh scattering.

    1. peyton?
      Headmaster

      hmmmm

      But what's to say that you wouldn't end up with pink eyes, like an albino. Or other colors like green or amber for that matter?

  9. Piro Silver badge

    Wow..

    Will people not stop at anything to change themselves? This is ridiculous. I wouldn't undergo pointless procedures to change eye colour. After all, there must be some risk involved. I don't think putting a laser in my eye for a terrible reason is a good idea.

    Like an earlier gentleman posting here, I thought this would be about anal bleaching too. Since this is El Reg, I'm going to go ahead and assume that was intentional, though.

  10. The Indomitable Gall

    Oblig.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGrmRGw8PZs

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "more brown pigmentation underneath"

    Well, that's another $5000 then.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I thought that the brown pigment was there for a reason? To protect your eyes from bright light!

    I wonder how this affects that, ie I have very light blue eyes, and really struggle to see in bright sunlight

    1. Rob Dobs
      Facepalm

      true

      That would be the case, those with Blue eyes have a harder time seeing in bright light, but also pickup a broader wave length of light, thus see a little better in the dark. It has it's pros and cons I suppose, but people that need their vision in daytime should not do this, especially people like pilots, race drivers etc that may find themselves with a new handicap. Now on the other hand, nighttime workers like special forces may benefit.

      1. Yag

        As a blue eyed bastard...

        I confirm the night vision part... until someone with full light on is coming from the opposite lane.

    2. JoeTheAnnoying
      Facepalm

      Spot-on

      I have light blue eyes and, as a result, had the wonderful experience of going snowblind at 18, and being photophobic for the rest of my life. I can't go outside without sunglasses, even on cloudy days. I can't drive during sunlight hours unless I have sunglasses on, because my eyes tear up too much. Even walking down a street with light-colored sidewalks is painfully bright.

      The notion of willingly giving up your melanin for cosmetic reasons baffles me.

      Get some colored contacts and keep your eyes protected, for gosh' sakes! Being blue-eyed may look cute, but it sucks in the sun.

      (Closest icon to being blind).

      1. Dave Lawton
        Facepalm

        @ JoeTheAnnoying

        Y'know, I always wondered why I could see better in the dark than most people.

        Thanks for the illumination (pun intended).

        Though fortunately mine are a sort of grey-blue, rather than light blue, so I can manage without sunglasses when it's overcast, but struggle even with them on a bright summer's day.

        Don't do it people, it ain't worth it.

  13. The BigYin

    Umm...

    ...the brown is caused by pigmentation, the same as the skin generates to protect itself. So wouldn't brown eyes be more resistant to sun damage? And isn't this why blue eyes are more prevalent in the Northern (and I guess Southern) latitudes? There being less harsh light there? Ok, so in the very extreme North/South there is snow glare to deal with as well.

    I guess this procedure might help the David Bowies of the world...but really...get a grip people.

  14. nichomach
    Facepalm

    Whilst I didn't immediately think...

    ...of anal bleaching as some of the posters above (I must have led a very sheltered life...), the actual story here is creepy enough. Seriously, why on earth would anyone DO this?

    Icon's eyes were brown before being flashed...

  15. Wombling_Free
    Headmaster

    Why would someone want blue eyes?

    I though all blue-eyed people were valley-girl yokels.

    They certainly lower property values!

  16. Graham Bartlett

    I'd expect some irritation from this

    So it'd probably make your brown eye go red first. Like other things...

  17. sellnosoup
    Happy

    title

    so lemme get this straight...

    you want me to pay, so an ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER with a LASER can shoot me in the EYE?

    ...

    seriously?

    ...

    HAHAHAAAAAA!!!!! :"D

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Green eyes

    Well, if 80% have brown and 17% have blue, that leaves 3% green ... my category. I'm rare! Wow!

    1. Evil Auditor Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re green eyes

      Michelle, you're even rarer than that! Just think of all the red eyes. Thoug, that's maybe more kind of an aftermath condition...

      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Red eyes are common

        .. mainly on Monday mornings. Having said that, I reckon that in the more rowdy places they will ask you why you need a laser for blue eyes if you can get them for free with a bar fight thrown in..

        :-)

      2. asdf
        Joke

        forgive me but

        Whats this about Mr. Red Eye?

  19. Anonymous IV

    Five thousand dollars to get blue eyes?

    Place the two words "rip" and "off" adjacently, in that order.

    1. Rob Dobs
      Happy

      cheaper if your really that vain

      If you compare it to the cost of buying much more expensive blue contacts for a lifetime, it might actually come in cheaper, so not really a rip off. Waste of money might be a better description, but I suppose people spend more than this for decades to slightly alter the shape of their nose, cheeks etc. The important thing I think people should remember is that no amount of money can buy self-confidence (though getting big boobs does seem to maybe be an exception to this rule ;-)

  20. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Coat

    Music for the operating theatre

    Crystal Gayle - Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

  21. Graham Bartlett

    @Field Marshal Von Krakenfart

    Thank you Captain Obvious.

    1. Horned-Devil

      maybe having blue eyes...

      ...allows you to see the purple reply to button?

    2. asdf

      lmao

      Yes he is a Captain but props for the rank and name he gave himself.

  22. Dave 32
    FAIL

    Eyes

    Well, as someone who has been shot in the eye with a laser (20 Watt Argon; beautiful green colour, about 1M times the brightness of the sun, such that it instantly cauterizes the retina!), I don't think I'd let anyone except a VERY excellent retina surgeon do the shooting.

    Besides, who wants blue eyes. Green eyes are the rarest and most desirable!

    Dave

    P.S. I have some retina photographs from after the laser surgery. They resemble a planet after a bout of phasering from an orbiting starship. ;-)

    P.P.S If y'all want to really be grossed out, look up "vitrectomy". Yeah, it was cool to see the silhouette of that needle as it went in (Yeah, I was conscious.). That cataract surgery was a blast, too!

    1. Daniel B.

      Oh dear!

      I've just lost the courage to go through laser surgery; that would be the "farewell to glasses" one. Yaaarrrrgh!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Considering the amount of time I spend trawling dating sites at work I'm yet to see a girl harp on about wanting a dark haired green eyed man so I would not agree that they are the most desirable. Blue stands out much more hence the attraction.

      (so says me a blue eyed boy anyway)

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Roxette

    I think Roxette asked about this procedure in a song from the 80s....

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    For only 2.5k...

    ...a real attention grabber. One brown, one blue!

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    If Dr. Homer starts advertising this on TV.....

    I vote that the jingle be Crystal Gayle's "Don't it make my brown eyes blue"!!!!!

    Ah, marketing--the last refugre of scoundrels now that patriotism is out of style......

This topic is closed for new posts.