Individual eye prostheses: overview, description, types and reviews
At the moment, there is no way to return a completely lost eye. You can not make such an artificial substitute, which could restore lost vision. The only thing that can be done in this case is to return the external signs of the missing eye with the help of a prosthesis. It looks almost like a real organ.
Why the prosthesis is needed
Prostheses are put in order to visually return the eye. They are mobile and identical to the second eye. There is also the medical side of the problem of the absence of eye prosthetics. This, for example, deformation of the face in children without an eyeball. In this situation, the prosthesis is simply necessary, because the consequences can be very bad.
Types of eye prostheses
There are two main types of eye prostheses:
- Glass. Such prostheses are made of several types of glass. The core is corneal, colored and scleral glass. This prosthesis comes out easy and is well moistened with a tear. Of the minuses, it should be noted the fragility of glass. Such a denture requires a careful attitude, otherwise it may crack or break. You can not wear such a substitute for a long time, because its life is only one year.
- Plastic. If you are not very careful, then you will be more suitable plastic eye prostheses. They have high strength in comparison with glass. Their service life is also higher, it is two years. Glass, they are inferior in weight and smoothness. Weigh plastic prostheses an order of magnitude larger, and the surface is not so smooth.
There is, in addition, a single-walled and two-walled prosthesis of the eyeball. The first is used when the eyeball is not completely removed, and the second - when the surgeon removed it to the end.
Operation
To begin with, doctors remove the damaged eye. For this, a general anesthetic is made and the mucous membrane is separated from the eyeball. The nerves and muscles that hold the eye are cut, after that the eye does not hold anything, and it just gets out. The mucous membrane remains almost intact.
After the eye is removed, the empty area needs to be filled in somehow. To do this, surgeons stitch together the muscle tissue and introduce either a patient's own material or an artificial one.
To begin the prosthetics, the wound must heal. For this you need to wait a couple of weeks. After that, a temporary plastic implant is inserted, so that the hole does not become smaller. The final denture is inserted only after a few months. Sometimes, several interventions are required to prepare the fundus.
Individual prostheses
In order to make the eye look the most similar, you will need individual eye prostheses. They will cost more, because they are specially made for the features of your eye cavity and the color of the pupil. It can be features such as the shape of the conjunctival cavity, color, size of the iris, sclera, the location of the vascular pattern.
The manufacture of an individual eye prosthesis begins with the formation of an impression of the mucous membrane. After this, the material suitable for the patient is selected, and work begins on the construction of the prosthesis.
Work on individual eye prosthetics is usually carried out on the very first day of treatment in the clinic.
How to create prosthesis from glass
Glass eye prostheses are made by the method of smelting from a special material. To begin with, a tube of cryolite is taken, melts and only the right part is separated. The result is a shape with two rods on each side. Inside this, everything is emptiness, and deformation of the form is due to the fact that one of the tubes is blowing. The master blows a ball out of this shape.
One of the rods is removed, and in its place create the basis of the iris. This is done using a special colored glass. A piece of such glass is welded to the ball and inflated to 10-11 mm, after which it is blown out of it with a rounded shape. After this, using a colored glass, the cornea is applied to the iris base, and the pupil is made in the center. After this, the scleral glass is applied, making a smooth transition between the cornea and the sclera.
When the pupil is ready, an ellipsoidal shape is melted from the balloon, and blood vessels are melted on it to give an even greater realism to the eye.
The manufacture of eye prostheses from glass takes a maximum of one hour. They can be done to you right at the same time you came to the clinic.
Made of plastic
The manufacture of this material takes longer, and the process itself is very different. Everything begins with the creation of a gypsum form, after which plastic is poured into it. Then all this is processed in a hydraulic press. Then it is fixed in the clasp, and the process of cooking the prosthesis begins.
Iris and pupil for a plastic prosthesis are drawn by artists with the help of high-quality oil paints. This is a specially trained artist.
The prosthesis undergoes special treatment, during which blood vessels are drawn. When the work is finished, the product is thoroughly polished to the maximum possible smoothness for the plastic.
The approximate time of manufacturing a plastic prosthesis is 2-4 days. This is significantly longer than that of glass. The price is because of this, the plastic ones are higher.
How much is the eye prosthesis
The cost of the eye prosthesis in Russia is 6 thousand rubles on average. Prices, of course, vary depending on the material from which the product is made. To make an individual eye prosthesis will cost more, on average it is about 13 thousand rubles. If you have a disability, then in Russia you will be given it free of charge, at the expense of social insurance.
Where eye prostheses are made
This is the issue of the factory of eye prostheses. Often such enterprises specialize in their own, certain material. In Russia, in many large cities, eye prostheses are made, in Moscow for example. To get an individual eye prosthesis, you need to contact the clinic directly, and you will be engaged.
Problems in wearing
After the patient is fitted with a prosthesis, painful sensations are not observed, however, the first days feel some discomfort. Over time, people get used to, and the inconvenience is no longer manifested. Wearing the best prosthesis around the clock, because even a break for several hours can affect the size of the mucous membrane. But this moment is better to discuss with your doctor.
An important problem is the increased release of tears and frequent contamination. This implies the need to clean the prosthesis every day. It should be done under clean, warm water, without using any cleaning agents. The maximum can be kept for 10 minutes in salty water.
Similarity to the real eye
Most people expect that the prosthesis will be virtually impossible to distinguish from the present eye in appearance. This is a delusion, because of which often customers are upset. It should be understood that whatever skill the artist-eyeball expert possesses, in any case the creation of a 100% identical eye is impossible. The eye has the property of changing the color and size of the pupil in different lighting, so it will almost always be slightly different from the prosthesis.
Preparation of the eye cavity to the prosthesis plays an important role. The worse it is, the less resemblance to the original.
Reviews
People who wear eye prostheses, speak about them positively. They say that at first the product delivers discomfort, but after a couple of months they no longer distinguish it from the real eye. Clients say that without a prosthesis they were too often noticed that it interfered with normal life.
Let's sum up
The only way to get back to normal after losing the organ of vision is eye prosthetics. Although it does not help you to see, but outwardly you will still get back your lost eye. Without an eye prosthesis complications can begin, and also it will not look outwardly in the best way.