An extraocular implant (also known as eyeball jewelry) is a cosmetic implant involving a tiny piece of decorative

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

which is implanted within the superficial, interpalpebral

conjunctiva The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with goblet cells, stratified columnar epithelium ...

sclera The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In humans, and som ...

of the

human eye The human eye is a sensory organ, part of the sensory nervous system, that reacts to visible light and allows humans to use visual information for various purposes including seeing things, keeping balance, and maintaining circadian rhythm. ...

History and culture

Eyeball jewelry was developed first in the Netherlands as a radical new form of

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common ear piercing in many s ...

in 2002. It was first designed at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery and is marketed there under the name JewelEye. The procedure is completely legal in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, as long as it is performed by a licensed

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

under sterile conditions. In Canada, multiple provinces have passed laws banning eyeball jewelry and

scleral tattooing Scleral tattooing is the practice of tattooing the sclera, or white part of the human eye. The dye is not injected into the tissue, but between two layers of the eye, where it spreads out over a large area. The process is not common as there a ...

due to potential health risks, including

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Procedure

Unlike

subdermal implant A subdermal implant refers to a body modification that is placed underneath the skin, therefore allowing the body to heal over the implant and creating a raised design. Such implants fall under the broad category of body modification. Many subderma ...

s and other new body modification procedures, the extraocular implant is currently only being performed in a medical clinic environment. The procedure is relatively quick, but it does require that both eyes be immobilized with

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two ...

drops, and that the layers of the eyeball where the implant is situated must be separated by the injection of liquid. As very few people have undergone this procedure, and it is relatively new, the long term health effects are currently unknown. However, the Website of the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery states that the implant does not interfere with the ocular functions, i.e. the visual performance and mobility. Additionally, patient satisfaction remains high and no side effects of the treatment have been noticed with a follow-up of more than one year.

Jewelry

Currently, the only supplier of jewelry for this implant is Hippocratech b.v., a company in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. The implant is manufactured from a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

alloy and is available in several basic shapes, including the

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

sign,

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

musical note In music, a note is the representation of a musical sound. Notes can represent the Pitch (music), pitch and Duration (music), duration of a sound in musical notation. A note can also represent a pitch class. Notes are the building blocks of much ...

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

shapes, with other shapes custom made by the company upon request. The size of the jewellery is about 1/8" (3 mm) across.

References

{{reflist
Body Modification E-zine Publisher's Ring article on JewelEye
*Melles GRJ, Ververs B, van der Linden JW: Cosmetic Extraocular Implant. J Cataract Refract Surg 2004;30:1595 - Scholarly Journal Article

External links

Body art Types of jewellery Body modification