(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Hello
everybody and welcome back to the channel. My name is Blair or the Iilluminaughtii and today we're talking about
yet another horrific business, and one you may not
have actually heard of, and they're called BrightOcular. Now this company does eye
surgeries and has apparently caused blindness in some of their clients. It's a whole interesting
tangle of shady shenanigans so let's get right into the video. (upbeat music) Now before I get into the controversies, let's start off with
answering the question who is BrightOcular? Originally when this
topic was requested to me in my discord server I believe, I thought they might be some
shady laser eye surgery place. However, that's not what they are at all. They're actually promoting eye
surgery to change the color of your eyes. Not so you can see better,
not for medical reasons, this is purely for
aesthetic purposes only. But in case you didn't
know for some reason, eye color is a genetic thing. genetic makeup determines the
amount of melanin in the eye. In eye color there isn't
blue or green pigment. All eye colors have the same brown melanin incapable of refracting light. The difference in eye colors
is due to the concentration and location of the brown
melanin on the two layers of the iris. People with brown eyes have
melanin on the back layer of the iris and some on the front layer which absorbs more light and
causes the iris to look brown. Eyes with no melanin on
the upper layer of the iris scattered light so that
more blue light reflects out so that the eye appears blue. So in order to change
this, BrightOcular applies artificial iris implants. A method they say was
first created for people that have poor vision due
to light sensitivities. Now this much is true
iris implants are a thing and they're not making that up. But only a handful of
ophthalmology surgeons in the US perform iris reconstructive surgeries because according to the American
Academy of ophthalmology, they have to endure the red
tape regulatory setbacks and hours of uncompensated
time spent filing documents to obtain permission
to implant the devices. Because there are no
FDA-approved Iris prosthesis permission is granted to US
surgeons through investigational or compassionate use exemptions only. Now this article was written in 2013 and it wasn't until five
years later in 2018, that the FDA approved the
first artificial iris. So this is just to say
that the technology is new. Not terrible or defective, but it's new. And it was approved according
to the FDA's website to treat adults and children whose iris is completely missing or damaged. Congenital aniridia is
a rare genetic disorder in which the iris is
completely or partially absent. It affects approximately one
in 50,000 to 100,000 people in the US. The iris controls the amount
of light entering the eye, and those with aniridia
have sensitivity to light and other severe vision problems. In addition to congenital aniridia, the CustomFlex Artificial Iris is indicated to treat Iris
defects due to other reasons or conditions such as
albinism, traumatic injury or surgical removal due to melanoma. So from the sounds of things,
it's used quite sparingly. Apparently, this technology
has been around in Europe for a bit longer than in the US. So again, that's not to say that passionate doctors
can't get it right. But I think it's the way
BrightOcular presents itself that I take issue with. They are a company that does
this artificial iris treatment, but just so your eyes look cool. On their front page, they have a slideshow
filled with men and women with stunning silver, blue,
deep green and blue green eyes. Like yeah, they look gorgeous
with those eye colors to the point where it
looks like it's contacts or heavy photoshopping. Whereas with another doctor
that performs the surgery, their photos show how this
has been used in patients that need it and the page
states they cannot guarantee a perfect color match
and far more disclaimers. I'm not saying this procedure
should never ever be done for cosmetic reasons if
it were safe that is, if you want to make your eyes black from getting them tattooed or get surgery to have them turn blue,
well, I've got no right to tell anyone how to spend their money. It's just about the
seemingly casual attitude of BrightOcular that
rubs me the wrong way. Like here on their about page they say it's not recommended
for merely cosmetic purposes, and yet all the shots they
have on their homepage and most of the shots on their
gallery are just glamor shots of how striking their contacts look. Maybe I'm reading too deep into this. So, let's just jump into some real tea, how they've caused blindness. (upbeat music) In recent years, stories have come out about women losing their vision. Some of the images are a bit graphic, and I apologize in advance for that. But that's kinda your warning as well. One story explains that these
prosthetics actually chafe the eye and caused pieces
of the iris to fall away. - Welcome back to Good
Morning San Antonio the 6:43 changing the color of your eyes if you're into that sort of thing. Most look to contacts
for a temporary change, but there are those who are
looking for a permanent change looking to procedures
that might not only result in vision loss, but
actually losing the eye. - Doesn't sound like a very good idea. Stephanie Serna reports local
doctors say these eye fads are dangerous and they
are not FDA approved. We wanna warn you, you might find some of the
story kinda hard to watch. - [Stephanie] Social
media stars Nadinne Bruna and her twin sister were
offered a chance to change the color of their eyes but
they had to fly to Colombia for the procedure. After the procedure Nadinne
lost 50% of her vision. - So my sister and I,
I want to kill myself. - [Stephanie] Dr. Tomy
Starck who specializes in refractive surgery says the procedure is not approved by the FDA and involves placing a
colored silicone implant in front of the iris. - The problem is that, that's
a location that no contact should be placed there. And just the fact that it's sitting in top of the regular collar part of the iris is shifting all the time. - [Stephanie] Dr. Starck
says that shifting causes pieces of the iris to float inside the eye and they get clogged up
producing severe glaucoma. - These patients are very,
very light sensitive, because there is chronic
inflammation inside of the eye. This is potentially
blinding procedure as well. - [Stephanie] Also potentially
blinding scleral tattooing. - On this scleral tattoo
people try to change the color the white part of the eye to
a dark color like a tattoo and they inject the ink or the
tattoo under the conjunctiva. And this is performed by
people who are not trying to put injections in the eye. - [Stephanie] Starck
says in many cases people who get this done could
not only lose their sight, but their entire eye. And for those who use contact
lenses to change eye color, there's a risk there too. Dr. Starck says if
there's not adequate care, you can develop serious infections. Stephanie Serna case at 12 News. - And that sounds like a bit
of a fucking horror movie to me. There's been a lot of recent
YouTube videos as well of people speaking out
against BrightOcular and some needing surgery to
remove the implant altogether because of the damage it caused. One woman said that after
only six to eight months, she's losing her sight and
doctors can't help her. And it's honestly devastating
to hear her tell the camera I'm gonna go blind, please
don't do BrightOcular. There's also a pretty graphic
video from eye associates of South Texas that
show an implant removal. If you're curious to see
how these things work, I have to say it makes
me nauseous a little bit but you can take a look
at it, it is interesting but very graphic. And for those of you with weak stomachs, I can't blame you this
thing basically made me gag. Just think of like this little ring this little weird plasticky
looking colored ring that's directly over your iris. It's not an eye contact,
it's just a doughnut shape over the colored part of your eye. And doctors literally have to cut it out. Like I couldn't watch the whole thing it was a bit much for me. Gooey eye surgery is just not my gig. But there are plenty of
videos and testimony out there of complications and devastating
effects from this surgery. One case in particular that
I've seen is that of Tiny Harris Tameka aka Tiny Harris went overseas for this controversial surgery. ABC News covered the story in 2014. She used BrightOcular
but traveled to Africa to have it done because BrightOcular isn't even legal in the US. But we'll get more into
the business aspects and things like that later. However, what's truly
bothered people about her isn't the fact that she
had the surgery done, but how she's essentially going around and advertising BrightOcular
to others despite the blindness they've caused for many. Harris drew fire online
Monday after she confirmed in an Instagram post that
she used BrightOcular to make the color change
and thank the doctor who performed the procedure. Writing in part, huge thanks to the incredible doctors for the amazing experience and for making my dream come true. I hated wearing contacts
just for the color and it made my vision blurry. Let's just say my vision is #perfect after my #ice-gray implants. Special thanks to the
#BrightOcular staff for all that you've done to make
this process happen. You're amazing and thank
you to the hospital staff for your exceptional
customer service as well. She's also mentioned people
living with eye conditions such as ocular albinism,
aniridia and iris coloboma writing BrightOcular
can help you, she wrote. Her posts included a
caution that any procedure has potential risk but continued, no one has gone blind with BrightOcular and the success rate
has been close to 100%. She also gave her followers a promo code that they could use to get a deal on future BrightOcular services. And this is where I start to get pissed. Like it's one thing to say
BrightOcular worked for her, but to advertise this dangerous procedure to her followers like fuck that. That's seriously irresponsible. If I ever use my platform to advocate some like risky medical
procedure with proven dangers and side effects like
literally unfollow me and take away my platform. I thought advertising that
skinny T bullshit was bad enough on Instagram but this shit
takes it to a whole other level. Call it controversial if you like but medical studies have shown
this is in fact dangerous and that alone tells me
anyone with a following should not be promoting this
procedure as a fun and safe and quirky way to get a fun
eye color, because it's not. One article published on July 18 2018 on the National Library of Medicine from the American Journal of
Ophthalmology states this, Phakic intraocular lenses PIOLs are known to lead to endothelial loss. Much of the damage has been shown to occur in the early post-operative period, consistent with endothelial trauma caused by an anterior segment procedure. Other purported causes
of endothelial damage include intermittent
endothelial-lens touch and persistent inflammation. It can be extrapolated that
such mechanisms would be at play with the BrightOcular implant, which is even closer to the
endothelium than the PIOL. Our patient did not have
significant inflammation, so that was unlikely a prominent factor in endothelial damage. While the hinges of the implant embed into the peripheral iris and supposedly do not contact the cornea, intermittent iris-cornea touch
is certainly a possibility for the damage observed. Unlike the designs of
the artificial irises used to treat pathology, the hinge mechanism in
the anterior chamber is both more anterior and less secure than its sulcus-fixation and enclavation or in-the bag techniques
used for more proven models. Cosmetic iris implants
including the newer generation of BrightOcular devices have been shown to have severely detrimental
effects on corneal integrity. These devices should not be implanted and removal on an urgent
basis should be recommended to mitigate risks to ocular
health and preserve vision. The point here is as I've been saying, it's not completely safe yet, at least not for cosmetic purposes. Even if Tiny Harris wants to argue that people aren't going blind, they've been proven to
cause so many issues. This article also makes the
point that iris implants used for actual medical treatments have received the Conformitee
Europeenne label indicating compliance with European
Union healthcare standards. These implants are typically
inserted into the capsular bag or are part of the
intraocular IOL lens complex. The safety of these
models has been relatively well established and their purpose is for
treating ocular pathology. This is in contrast to the BrightOcular and New Color Iris implants whose safety has not been
adequately demonstrated and whose purpose is primarily
elective and cosmetic. BrightOcular not only doesn't
really compare to the safety of the medical implants, but again, they don't
meet healthcare standards. When plastic surgery is cheap,
it's cheap for a reason. If a cosmetic procedure is illegal, it's illegal for a reason. No matter how striking those eyes on their website might look,
I don't think it's worth it. Besides, blue contacts
aren't exactly expensive and they are removable. Now granted, I do know that
there are some contact brands out there that do colors
that are also just a shitty and can hurt and mess up your eyes, but that's a story for a different day. So let's move on to some of
the illegal and shady aspects of the world of eye changing
surgery as promised. (upbeat music) One article from i-D shed a bit more light on the subject and
where it all comes from. Back in 2016, they wrote, Marilyn Manson is the posterboy
for unnatural eye color. His single white contact lens
is as iconic as it is demonic. And while it's hard to imagine
what could be more extreme, the field of cosmetic
surgery has now outdone him. See, the new trend for
surgically permanently changing your eye color. No contacts required, just $8,000 and a plane ticket to Mexico. Here's how the procedure works. An incision is made on the
surface of the eyeball, don't watch this video
if you're squeamish, a folded implant is inserted
and unfolded to cover the iris. The slit is stretched up and
your eyes are now Ice Grey, Baby Blue, Amber or
whatever option you choose from the menu. While the surgery isn't approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, a growing number of
people are both choosing to pay for the procedure
and the cost of traveling to a country where it's legal. They're flying to
countries including Mexico, Panama and India and returning
with eyes in sci-fi shades. Last year R&B singer Tiny
Harris the wife of rapper T.I. traveled to Tunisia and changed
her eye color from brown to Ice Grey via an iris implant. That's the color I
purchased, she told ABC News and when asked how she
feels about her new eyes, she added they're amazing I love them. Her daughter's Zonnique
also went Ice Grey. And yeah, you heard that right. Apparently it wasn't just enough for Tiny to change her eyes, but
she may have convinced or persuaded her daughter to do the same. Zonnique isn't a minor
so I don't want people jumping into the comments
below saying how terrible it was for Tiny to change
her child's eyes like that. But she was a young adult
when she had it done and unfortunately, it didn't
turn out so well for her. Zonnique told one fan on
Instagram that her experience wasn't best for the long term, even though her mom's
turned out just fine. And yeah, the argument
that everyone is different holds true here to some extent. But there's enough people
with severe complications that I don't think this should
be done in the first place. The i-D article continues, but things haven't been
so positive for everyone who's undergone the surgery. A patient who wishes to remain anonymous, admits in a YouTube video that she changed her eye color last year and already regrets her decision. She says I just wanted
something subtle and natural. My pupils do not dilate anymore,
and I feel like a vampire. All the little kids are scared of me. And then there are many stories of people who have decided to remove their implants after experiencing complications. One person I spoke with
who traveled to Panama for the procedure says that he
is suffering from cataracts, red eyes, blurry vision
and secondary glaucoma. Just having the implants in your eyes causes them to swell, he explains, you have to use anti inflammatory drops for the rest of your life, he says adding Please don't be that stupid, your health is more important. Of course, the medical centers that offer the procedures disagree. Sibi Joice, a representative
of Dr. Shiba Varkey a cosmetic eye surgeon in
India told me over email, we have been doing this
procedure successfully and with the utmost patient satisfaction for more than five years. If the risk of losing your vision or having your eyes
permanently damaged is worse than being blue then go off I suppose. But obviously the people
promoting these surgeries are going to say they've had the utmost
patient satisfaction whether or not that's true. I'd love to see interviews
of some of those patients years down the road. Apparently there's even
new ways of doing this. A walk in procedure that
literally burns away melanin in your eyes, which yeah, that's about
as horrifying as it gets like no, thank you. Dr. Robert Cykiert an associate professor of ophthalmology at NYU
Langone Medical Center says, when you burn the brown
pigment away with a laser the debris that is created
in the front of the eye, think of it as ashes resulting
from burning anything, is likely to clog up
the microscopic channels in front of the eye, known
as the trabecular meshwork. It is very likely to cause a high pressure in the eye known as glaucoma. That's why I think
companies like BrightOcular are so incredibly dangerous. Right now they're offering
these shady implants. But what if this new tech entices them and they literally
start burning people's eyes and causing even more damage
than they already have? Plus, why the fuck would
you think blue eyes are worth this potential damage
for the rest of your life? The extent some people have
gone in order to do this like flying overseas only to
be told that they're gonna live with eye problems for
the rest of their life, like, it's heartbreaking. Here's one man story about his experience. Omar Sabuding said he always wanted to change his brown eyes to blue. But the procedure he had been looking at that uses colored silicone
implants to change eye color is illegal in the United States. So he packed his bags
and headed to Tunisia to have the procedure done for $6,500 at a company called BrightOcular. Sabuding said he liked
what he saw in the mirror after the procedure, but
something wasn't right. This is going to sound crazy,
but I just saw two raisins, the black spots because I'm not
used to seeing it like that. I had to get used to it. Even though I liked it, I saw the pictures but when I saw myself in
pictures in the mirror, I was like, I don't know. That's why just a few weeks later, he had the artificial iris
implants removed from his eyes, but the damage was already done. His irises were permanently deformed and he was temporarily blinded. He spent the following
six days at the hospital. The only thing I was
thinking during that time when I couldn't see
anything was my family. All the appearance, all the shallowness, it didn't mean anything. It made me think, it's sad
that I had to go so far for me to realize that, he said. And this is only after a few weeks, I can only imagine what
would have happened had he kept them any longer. Well, honestly, I don't have to imagine. One woman Nadinne lost 80% of
her vision in her right eye and 50% in her left eye. Just like Omar she regrets the experience and it's with no ill intent at all say she does very different. I hope she can embrace her
look and learn to love her eyes the way they are now, but I can understand why like with the rest of the
examples we saw earlier, those eyes would be
difficult to live with. It presents a whole new set of challenges that I highly doubt anyone was thinking when they got this surgery. But then again, we have Tiny on Instagram
who has the audacity to say that no one's gone blind from it, like what do people have
to lose their vision completely on a regular basis to convince her that this might not
be as safe as she thinks? I'm not saying colored contacts don't do any damage whatsoever, because there most certainly
are stories of that. But they should be from
a reputable supplier and require a prescription
to not be dangerous, but at least those aren't
permanent altering and damaging when used properly. (upbeat music) Now as for the legality, well, one Trustpilot reviews says, BrightOcular was banned in Mexico and the testimonials on
YouTube were fabricated. Another says they had the
procedure seven years ago and now have lost 60% of their vision. Yet another review states the
implants don't even look real and then another says they
don't care if it goes wrong. The implants are illegal
in the US as well as the UK and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Glaucoma Society, and the Contact Lens
Association of Ophthalmologists all strongly discourage anyone
from undergoing this surgery. And yet here we are, talking about people that believe the rewards
outweigh the risks. And that's partly thanks
to how BrightOcular is marketing themselves as well. The implants are heavily marketed. These are very savvy
presented on the internet and there's a lot of
misleading information about FDA approved material
and US Patent studies. Of course, there are no studies Tal Raviv, MD said at Cornea Day preceding the American Society of
Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting and the reality is this
causes such horrific damage. The two major brands of iris implants are New Color Iris and BrightOcular. There were more than
700 patients implanted with the New Color Iris implants in Panama from 2006 to 2010. In a study Raviv and
colleagues conducted in 2012, more than 50% of patients who received the New Color Iris implants
needed secondary surgery and sometimes multiple surgeries. There are severe and
irreversible complications. This is not a reversible procedure. It's just a removable implant, he said. The problem with these implants
is that we cannot size them and they are interior chamber lenses that basically touch the angle 360 degrees and cause severe damage. If the patient is showing early
signs of iritis, high IOP, pupil ovalization under the implant, corneal decomposition or cataract, Raviv recommended that the surgeon should immediately
explant the iris implant. Do not delay and do not
hesitate to tell the patient that this is extremely dangerous, he said. As frustrating as it is
to watch this all unfold as it is with any company
that's hurting people, I'm glad that I'm not
the only one taking issue with their marketing tactics and the cosmetic and casual attitude they seem to have towards these implants. If their success rate is only 50% and the other 50% need multiple surgeries, and I'm glad these are
illegal in so many places. And I'm glad that so many
people are speaking out about their experiences. Because regardless of if
they've done everything right, or may just feel stupid for
falling for the scammy company, it's important that we hear
these stories and recognize how frequent this damage
does occur when you get this procedure done. So please, if this happened
to you warn other people, and just in general spread
this message around. This shouldn't be something that people pay thousands of dollars for only to permanently like
fuck up their eyes forever. But with that being said, that's where I'm gonna end today's video. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. And if you like today's video
or learnt something new in it, make sure to hit that like button and if you're new to the channel, make sure to subscribe for some
more content just like this. If you want more content from me, including all the sources
I used for this video, my social media, other
channels and projects I'm involved with links for everything will be in the description box down below. So again, guys, thank
you so much for making it to today's video, I love you
and don't do this procedure and I'll see you in the next one. Bye guys. (upbeat music)
