Artificial eye specialist Alaa Bahri is the first Saudi woman in the field of handmade artificial eyes. In Jeddah, she owns the first specialist clinic in the Kingdom that makes and fits artificial eyes for those who lost an eye in an accident or as a result of a tumor.
Bahri learned the skill in Spain within three years. She then moved to Huston, USA, where she trained for about a year, before she returned home and trained for six months at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital.
“I make artificial eyes to help those who need to regain their confidence in their looks.” An artificial eye is made of acrylic plastic, a high-quality type of plastic that is molded (into different sizes and shapes), painted, and polished. It is break-resistant, she said.
An artificial eye is manufactured for a patient after taking measurements and making a pattern for the molding of the prosthetic eye. Bahri recommends that an artificial eye be replaced every three years, and in some cases less than that. She also advises to have it cleaned and polished by a specialist every six months.
“Manufacturing one artificial eye usually takes between three days and a week, depending on the case, as each one is manufactured for each patient individually,” she said. “We use the latest technology for taking measurements (of the socket) to make sure the patient will be comfortable after fitting the artificial eye, and we always aim to manufacture artificial eyes that are identical in shape and color to the natural ones.”
Patients seeking to fit an artificial eye are usually nervous during their first visit. “They would have questions that we would answer. They become more comfortable and responsive once they recognize that the artificial eye would be the solution and we explain how the procedure of fitting it is painless and does not involve surgery or anesthesia. It is difficult, but the patient will eventually adopt,” Bahri said.
