Scarred pupil

[JessieB48]

When I was 5 I made the mistake of not listening to my parents and decided to play with knives. As a result of my actions I fell and got a knife in my eye. Since that time I have had two cataract surgeries and have developed glaucoma at the age of 23, but this is not what bothers me. Ever since my accident my right eye's pupils resembles that of a cats eye and it doesn't dilate. My right eye also appears to be slightly bigger and a slight different shape then my left and that may just be because of the abnormal shape of my pupil. I've heard of only a few cases like mine but I haven't found any stories on anyone being able to fix the shape of their pupil. My boyfriend and I have been talking marriage for the past two years but I keep telling him I want to wait till I can fix my eye because  I can't stand photos of myself. If anyone has any answers to what I can do I would greatly appreciate it. Thank so much.
Jessica

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[flossy93]

Please don't let the appearance of your eyes delay your relationship plans, which are much more important the your appearance or what you look like in photographs.

With regard to the photos, you should discuss with any potential wedding photographer their ability to digitally edit your photos to 'normalize' the appearance of your eyes if that is important to you.  You would not believe what can be done with digital editing of photographs - it's really amazing.  Most professional wedding photographers have the software to do this in-house.  Tell them your concerns and see what they say can be done.  You may be pleasantly surprised.

Bear in mind that most pictures showing groups of people or you and your new spouse in full-length views will be taken from too far away to show detail in your pupils anyway.  For a few closeup shots you might select to purchase, you can have the digital editing done to make the eye pupils and size - and everything else - look perfect if that is what you want.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[JessieB48]

Have tried the contacts but they are thick and cause lots of discomfort to wear, plus I've tried so many and my Dr. Can't seem to find a shape that covers my Scar on my pupil and can still make it round. But thank you so much for your help.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

It is not possible to do an operation on either eye that will make your pupils "normal". In some instances an eye with a "key-hole" appearance can be sutured to make it round but it will not dilate normally and may interfere with seeing into your eye. For that reason surgery is usually not done. The easiest way to address your problem is to fit a soft contact lens over the cornea that has an iris and round pupil design.  You might see an Eye MD ophthalmologist that specializes in corneal disease to begin and evaluation and referral to someone fitting this type of contacts. this is not a rare problem. In cases where almost all the iris has been damaged there is an artificial iris that is put inside the eye but this carries a lot more risk than the painted contacts.

JCH MD