{"id":268830,"date":"2026-08-20T12:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/268830\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:58:11","slug":"first-artificial-iris-implant-in-western-pennsylvania-performed-at-upmc-vision-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/268830\/","title":{"rendered":"First Artificial Iris Implant in Western Pennsylvania Performed at UPMC Vision Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"

In June 2024, a sudden sports injury left Evan Facher lying on the ground, bleeding in incredible pain. The outer wall of his eye, he would later learn, had ruptured. The lens, the clear disc that focuses incoming light toward the back, was destroyed. The retina\u2014the irreplaceable link between the eye and the optic nerve\u2014was hanging in the balance, peeling away from its blood supply. And the iris, the pigmented ring encircling the pupil, was torn apart, a fraction of its former self.<\/p>\n

Facher already had intimate knowledge of the UPMC Vision Institute<\/a> prior to that pivotal day when he became a patient. As vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Pittsburgh and an associate dean for commercial translation at Pitt School of Medicine, he helps shepherd new discoveries along the path to the clinic, work that has brought him to many exciting projects with ophthalmologists and others at Pitt and UPMC. Now, he would come to be shepherded himself, as a frequent visitor to the Vision Institute\u2019s home at UPMC Mercy Pavilion<\/a> in Uptown.<\/p>\n

Through a series of delicate procedures, UPMC surgeons across multiple ophthalmic specialties collaborated to save Facher\u2019s eye. They repaired his ruptured globe. They rescued his precariously peeling-away retina. Then, the team made plans for a third surgery: They would replace his lost lens with a prosthetic, the same kind used every day as a surgical cure for cataracts. And finally, in the same surgery, they would also do something quite uncommon.<\/p>\n

They would implant an artificial iris\u2014a first for UPMC, and for Western Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to begin offering this to our patients. For people with very severe injuries like this, the artificial iris implant can be transformative,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Jos\u00e9-Alain Sahel<\/a>, director of the\u00a0UPMC Vision Institute and distinguished professor at Pitt\u2019s School of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beyond aesthetics, the iris is crucially important to vision. Muscular and dynamic, it contracts and expands as needed to control the amount of light entering the visual system. Without it, the overwhelm of light mars the accuracy of images, explained Dr. Ian Conner, the surgeon who performed the implant procedure. Conner is chief of the Glaucoma and Cataract Service at UPMC and associate professor of ophthalmology at Pitt.<\/p>\n

Through the months leading up to Facher\u2019s implant procedure, half his world was, at best, a blur. Depth perception was a struggle. He bumped into things on his left side often.<\/p>\n

And, as is painfully obvious for anyone who\u2019s ever emerged from a dilated-eye exam on a sunny day, sunglasses were a necessity. This was Facher\u2019s reality in bright indoor settings, too. In the supermarket, shades were an absolute must.<\/p>\n

To treat the discomfort that comes with essentially living with one fully dilated pupil, 24\/7, one option is a painted contact lens. But often that doesn\u2019t work out, said Conner. It can be uncomfortable to wear contacts for more than a few hours, even for people with healthy eyes. But for someone who\u2019s had ocular trauma, it is often \u201csimply impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Ian Conner holds the artificial iris moments before performing the surgical procedure to implant the device for the first time in Western Pennsylvania on December 15, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor someone with a large iris defect, the artificial iris is the only available option that really gets them close to a normally functioning eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

For color-matching, Conner\u2019s team took high-resolution photos of Facher\u2019s healthy iris and sent them to the implant\u2019s manufacturer in Germany. The wait for Facher\u2019s custom order\u2014as well as customs processing\u2014took months for the tiny, intercontinental payload. Insurance processing was a long haul, as well, as is often the case for emerging technologies like the artificial iris.<\/p>\n

On the big day\u2014December 15, 2025\u2014Facher and his family joked that they were so ready for closure, they didn\u2019t care what color iris he\u2019d go home with\u2014and besides, the mismatched look \u00e0 la David Bowie is pretty cool, anyway.<\/p>\n

But months later, when the surgical site had healed, the swelling had subsided, he had been fitted with his new prescription eyeglasses and most of his recovery was finally behind him, Facher said he was happy with the color\u2014and so much more.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(From left) Drs. Conner and Boris Rosin discuss with Evan Facher his vision-test results\u201420\/25 with his glasses\u2014nearly two years after a sports accident that seriously injured his left eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping for some vision back,\u201d he said, nearly two years out from the accident that could have destroyed his eye altogether. \u201cI\u2019ve ended up with probably about 90% of what I had before. I really don\u2019t notice much of a difference from what my vision was a couple years ago, prior to the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent morning at UPMC Mercy Pavilion, Facher completed a familiar ritual, an eye exam and vision test. As he and Conner celebrated the results, the door opened, and in walked the surgeon who had brought Facher\u2019s retina back from the brink, Dr. Boris Rosin<\/a>, retina and vitreous diseases specialist at UPMC and assistant professor of ophthalmology at Pitt.<\/p>\n

\u201c20\/25 with the glasses!\u201d they said to one another over and over again\u2014ophthalmology-speak for, essentially, just shy of perfect.<\/p>\n

As the appointment wound down, the trio discussed next steps. Facher\u2019s visits would not be nearly so often anymore. For now, he would alternate between seeing Conner and Rosin, returning every other month. Then they\u2019d taper down to every four months. Then just twice a year.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Evan Facher on April 29, 2026, about 4 \u00bd months after receiving an artificial iris implant in his left eye at UPMC Mercy Pavilion in Uptown.<\/p>\n

Facher was on his way back to being more of a regular of the building\u2019s conference rooms than its clinics.<\/p>\n

Outside, showers started to clear. After a long ordeal, Facher could look forward to a brighter spring and summer. While his new iris can\u2019t quite emulate nature\u2014it\u2019s fixed in a permanent, partially-closed position rather than the dynamic, living shutter in his healthy eye\u2014he didn\u2019t need to fear the sun anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still wear the same sunglasses,\u201d Facher said. \u201cNow I just wear them because they\u2019re cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he doesn\u2019t wear them in the supermarket.<\/p>\n

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