Implants For "Bright Eyes" Have Risks

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Toryn Green loves having blue eyes. As an actor and rocker, he says the attention his light eyes attract is priceless.

Remember when colored contacts were all the rage?

"A lot of the different movie stars, Mel Gibson, Brad(ley) Cooper. All these guys. They all have these beaming blue eyes," Green said. "People tend to gravitate toward blue eyes."

But he wasn't born with baby blues. They used to be hazel, until about four months ago.

"I basically got on a plane, flew to the other side of the world where I didn't know anybody to have a stranger put blades in my eyes while I was awake," he said.

Toryn explained the procedure to change his eye color was something called "Bright Ocular." It's a silicone iris implant, that's placed inside the eye surgically in front of the natural iris.

Iris implants are not approved by the FDA, so American doctors don't offer them. Toryn had to fly to India for his surgery.

Opthalmologist Dr. David Wallace agreed to examine him.

"The cornea is clear," Dr. Wallace said while checking him out.

He described the implant as having "an opening in the center that allows light to pass through."

To the naked eye, Toryn's implants are nearly impossible to spot.

But with the help of Dr. Wallace's light and instruments, the Bright Ocular implants come into focus.

"Everyone seems to love the results," Green said.

Well, not everyone.

"I would not choose to have this for my own eyes, so I would not recommend it to you," Dr. Wallace said.

Dr. Wallace's exam found no issues with Toryn's eyes.

There are no signs of damage and his vision is nearly perfect.

"What we don't know is what the down stream risk is," Dr. Wallace said. "If you have any problem down the road, you're on your own."

And there have been reports of problems with iris implants.

An eye surgeon in London posted a YouTube video of what happened to one patient when a Bright Ocular implant had to be removed four years after it was placed.

Toryn says he went into the surgery with his eyes wide open about potential risks.

"I researched it for about eight months before I decided to pull the trigger," he said. "I have no regrets, not one doubt. I always wanted to have blue eyes and the fact that is now scientifically possible is very exciting to me."

Bright Ocular says FDA approval is a top priority right now and it hopes to begin clinical trials with U.S. doctors very soon.

The company says it's important for patients to have follow-up appointments to ensure the procedure's long-term success.

But with many traveling to the other side of the globe for the surgery, routine follow-ups aren't always an option.