Artificial eyes basically are held in place through the pressure of the fit, and by the eyelids. They should be cleaned at home every few months with a mild facial soap. A good eye should last five to seven years. The causes are many, the Thomases said, including disease, infection, birth defects, gunshot wounds, yard darts, paperclips shot across classrooms and errant golf balls. Now, however, Walls is perfectly comfortable with his artificial matching eye.
Nobody even notices it.
Walls, however, doesn't go in for novelty eyes, unlike many of the Thomases' patients. Many people want eyes associated with their favorite sports team, Bob Thomas said. He said an ocularist is something of a counselor as well as a craftsman. He said new patients often learn to accept their loss by talking with satisfied veteran patients, like Parrott. It takes a while before you even feel like making a joke about it.