Edited release
01/11/23
The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics announced that they recently performed the first implant of a new silicone artificial iris prosthetic in a patient’s eye.
In a release from the Hospital, 68-year-old Larry Molyneaux of What Cheer, Iowa, was injured when a sliver of steel went through his right eye. Using new technology, surgeons performed the implant.
Although artificial iris implants have been around for decades, until recently only a handful of places across the country were able to perform the procedure. It wasn’t until 2018 that the first iris prosthesis was approved for use in the U.S. Molyneux is the first patient in Iowa to receive the silicone-based prosthesis.
Dr. Christopher Sales is an ophthamologist and surgeon at the UI Hospitals and Clinics and performed the surgery. He says early implants helped with vision but altered the original appearance of the eye. The new implants make it look as though the patient was never injured at all.