What Are Ocular Prosthetics?

Our handmade custom ocular prosthetics (artificial eyes) are used when a patient loses their eye due to a medical reason or an injury.

We also make scleral shell prosthetics which are very thin shells that cover an unsighted eye.

Your ocular prosthesis is made of a very fine medical grade plastic that is molded, colored and polished to create a realistic and comfortable artificial eye. The plastic is lightweight, yet tough enough to resist breakage if dropped.

Each artificial eye is custom made and designed to specifically fit your individual eye socket. The ocular prosthetic is hand painted using the patient’s companion eye as a model and guide for matching. Our methods and technique allow us to create a custom prosthetic eye with the best possible cosmetic results.

Artificial eyes have been used since ancient times from a variety of materials including, clay, cloth, gold and enamel. In the late 16th century eyes were made of glass in Europe, focused mostly in Germany until the late 19th century.

After World War II, glass was more difficult to find and eye makers began to experiment with the use of plastics. Since then plastics have been used as the material for the artificial eye. Being durable, easy to work with and relatively inexpensive plastics have a huge advantage over glass. Monoplex Eye Prosthetics and American Optical were one of the innovators of this process. The techniques used then are still implemented today as we create the highest quality artificial eye.