During your first visit we will explain the entire process. We understand that the first appointment can be somewhat stressful, but it is basically pain free.
We hope you will leave the first appointment (or in some instances the second) with a temporary prosthesis that looks good, but that you know the custom prosthetic eye we make for you in the next few weeks will look even better. It is at this point that most of our patients feel a deep sense of relief and hope as they realize they will look very much like they did before the loss.
Our artificial eyes are custom-made by us, meaning they are not ordered. We will match the shade of the sclera (white part of the eyes), the color, the veins and the shape of your eyes as much as possible. Do not be upset if adjustments are necessary, and realize no one else will look for differences the way we do. Should adjustments be necessary every effort will be made to meet all of your expectations.
Although the plastic is good for 5 years, most of the socket complications come about from wearing ill fitting prosthetic eyes. We find that prevention is the best philosophy in regards to fitting and refitting the prosthesis. As you wear a prosthetic eye, the soft tissue of the socket expands. This means there is excess space, and if the space is not filled by the prosthetic eye, the body will fill in this space with scar tissue, and or shorten the fornices of the socket.
In addition, when the prosthesis is too small, it will not make the lids function properly resulting in ptosis or drooping of the eyelids, especially the upper eye lid. When the lower lid scars, it can result in the prosthesis falling out. These defects do not just show up one day. They gradually develop, and if you wait until these problems are obvious, more than likely you waited too long.
The fornices are the space around the diameter of the socket, and when these areas shorten or scar, if reduces the natural function of the prosthetic eye. In children, not changing or enlarging the prosthesis regularly will result in a lack of bone growth or a lack of balance in the structure of the face.
