The first artificial iris implanted in a patient was done at UPMC in December 2025, thanks to Ian Conner, MD, PhD, Division Chief of the Glaucoma and Cataract Service, who was committed to making it happen.
The patient suffered a blunt trauma to his eye in June 2024. He had two previous surgeries to save the eye. Once he stabilized, Dr. Conner implanted an intraocular lens and artificial iris to improve his vision and return his appearance to nearly normal.
WPXI reported “about one week after the surgery, the patient began noticing significant improvements as his eye healed. His vision eventually returned to about 90%…reaching 20-25 clarity with prescription glasses.”
According to the manufacturer, the CUSTOMFLEX ArtificialIRIS device is “a foldable iris prosthesis that is custom-made for each individual patient, made with medical-grade colorized silicone of the type used in other eye devices, such as intraocular lenses.” In other words, it is customized to match the patient’s natural iris tissue – including its color.
Most patients who are eligible for this procedure have suffered a trauma. A minority have a congenital defect that resulted in the absence of iris tissue.
“Once implanted, the expectation is for this to last for a lifetime,” Dr. Conner said.
Since the first surgery, Dr. Conner has performed artificial iris implants on two other patients.
Watch a video about this procedure from UPMC News.