Kellogg Expands Ocular Prosthetics Service

Every year thousands of patients turn to Kellogg to restore, improve or preserve their eyesight. Through the Ocular Prosthetics Service, Kellogg also offers solutions and hope to people who lose eyes to illness or injury, and parents of babies born with undeveloped or underdeveloped eyes.

Ocularists are ophthalmic specialists trained to create and fit ocular prosthetics, or artificial eyes. Replicating a human eye requires an extraordinary combination of medical know-how, technical precision and artistry. Guiding patients and parents through the meticulous process requires tremendous patience and compassion.

With fewer than 140 board-certified ocularists in the U.S., few private practices and even fewer academic eye centers have one on staff. Kellogg has two, with more than 60 years of combined experience.

Greg Dootz, BCO, BADO, came to the discipline from an optical background, training and apprenticing at U-M before joining the Kellogg staff in 1980. He estimates that he has created prosthetic eyes for about 6,000 adults and 900 infants and children. “My patients have ranged from 2 days to 103 yrs old, and have come from as far as Italy and Russia.”

Eric Lindsey, BCO, BADO, was recruited by Kellogg in August 2022 after owning an ocular and facial prosthetics practice in California. His expertise is rooted in strong artistic fundamentals, having studied painting and sculpture in the U.S. and Italy before applying his talent to prosthetics. “It’s so rewarding to build relationships with patients, and to know that I’m making art that makes a difference,” he says.

Numerous steps are required to create and fit an ocular prosthesis. An impression of the patient’s eye socket is made, which forms the mold for a wax casting. Hours are spent in the lab sculpting and adjusting the casting. Multiple patient fittings are needed to position the iris and pupil and calibrate lid movement and motility. Alterations in one variable mean changes in them all, until finally a prosthetic can be cast in acrylic and hand painted.

The youngest patients, including babies born with anophthalmia or microphthalmia, require additional preparation in advance of their first prostheses. As early as possible—ideally within the first two months—a newborn’s eye socket is fitted with an expandable device called a conformer. Regular adjustments by the ocularist enlarge the conformer so the socket and surrounding structures develop properly as the child grows.

Eventually the child is fit with his or her first prosthetic eye.

“Especially for babies who have one functioning eye, our goal is to provide the first prosthesis by about age two,” explains Dootz. “It’s important that, from the very start, they see themselves as looking no different than anyone else.”

The ocularistry lab is located adjacent to surgical and medical clinics, making it easy to partner with patients’ care teams to address any issues or concerns. “That continuity of care gives patients and parents peace of mind,” says Lindsey, who has already collaborated on a number of complex cases. “It’s one of the biggest advantages of practicing at Kellogg.”

In addition to monitoring, troubleshooting, improving and replacing prostheses of existing patients, the team sees four to five new patients each week. “We follow these patients for life,” says Dootz, “so the bonds we build are strong.” So strong that an adult patient Dootz has worked with since infancy recently asked him to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.