New Procedure May Eliminate Bloodshot Eyes

LOS ANGELES - For Greg Watterworth its difficult to talk about…

"It is hard to talk about and emotional," Watterworth said.

Something he's lived with all his life… eyes that look bloodshot- redness that won't go away.

"It really affects my relationships with people, you can't look people in the eyes... you have a hard time looking in the mirror, you don't go out as often as you would like. It just really affects your self esteem and self confidence," Watterworth said.

And year after year, he was told there was nothing he could do. Until now, he's come from Colorado to California for a new procedure he called I-Brite.

Before and after photos show the results, gone eye redness, spots and discoloration. These photos taken just weeks after the procedure.

"We do not have to worry about having a medical condition to have to do the procedure for. With the technique that we're doing, we're getting excellent cosmetic results and that's the key that the cosmetic result looks great. His eyes look nice and white and bright and that's the reason why we're doing it," Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, an eye surgeon, said.

"Here what we're seeing is a lot of blood vessels and that's what gives that blood-shot appearance," Dr. Boxer Wachler said.

It is Beverly Hills Eye Surgeon Brian Boxer Wachler who created I-Brite. First, he marks the area of each eye he'll be working on - where the visible spots and redness show. That's between the upper and lower lids. Then in surgery, he carefully lifts off and separates the membrane that contains those blood vessels, spots and discoloration.

"The third step is we let the eye heal because it will regenerate its own membrane that's crystal clear," Dr. Boxer Wachler said. "The beauty is it won't have any blood vessels in it," he added.

The doctor says the response to this new procedure has been overwhelming. Patients see the results within two weeks. He says for all of them… it's life-changing.

"I was just happy to find a cure for it, happy to see them getting whiter and whiter. I can't believe it," Daphne Foster, a patient, said.

It's been three weeks since Daphne Foster had the I-Brite procedure. The discoloration and bumps on her eyes that made her self-conscious, now gone. Still, she does admit, she was surprised at what caused the problem in the first place - sun damage.

"I didn't wear sunglasses growing up. I was told to wear sunglasses growing up. I didn't know that the sun could affect your eyes that badly so I had spots and some raised bumps on my eyes," Foster said.

The doctor says for most people, the cause of eye redness and spotting is sun damage, although that's not always the case.

"In our patient, Greg's case, he had it for his whole life. It was something he was really kind of born with. So he had a bit of a different cause for him but still, the end result is the same," Dr. Boxer Wachler said.

Insurance doesn't cover I-Brite procedure, about $3,500 per eye. But for patients like Daphne Foster, it's well worth it - she has a new outlook

"I feel great... I feel more confident, you know, my self esteem is up. I feel great," Foster said.

And Greg Watterworth plans on feeling the same way. He has a vision of what his life will be like.

"I hope the redness will finally disappear and I can wake up in the morning and just have clear eyes. I've never experienced that my whole life so I think it would be just so exciting and to have that confidence that I've lacked for so many years," Watterworth said.

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