Melbourne, Australia – Patrick Loyer

With An Eye On Confidence

FRENCH by birth, Patrick Loyer began his career as an ocularist with a five-year apprenticeship in Paris almost 30 years ago. He moved to Melbourne shortly afterwards, and now creates about 300 artificial eyes a year for private clients and patients at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

The eyes are made from an acrylic plastic, which moulds and polishes more easily than glass. MrLoyer takes an impression of the eye socket, from which he creates a prototype eye that can be altered as necessary. He then paints the iris colours and pupil with the patient in the room, which takes about 20 minutes. The finished eye is then cured in a machine for six hours.

“The job is not about making the artificial eye identical to the real one; symmetry is rare in faces,” Mr Loyer says in the remains of his soft accent. “The goal is to make something that looks natural.”

Mr Loyer says his work is highly rewarding. “It’s a privilege to help people and see the result,” he says. “There is quite a striking difference when they leave: you have given someone back not only their eye but their confidence and self-esteem.”

The Age

Saturday January 17, 2009

Megan Byrne

Tool kit

PAY: Each eye costs $1100-$1600 to make but Mr Loyer says his earnings depend on the ratio of public to private healthcare clients: he charges per eye for private clients but is paid a wage for his work for the Children’s and Eye and Ear hospitals.

HOURS: About 60 hours a week; 8am-6pm, six days.

SPECIAL SKILLS: Steady hand; an appreciation of the aesthetic; an understanding of proportion and colour.

MOST ENJOYABLE: Increasing a patient’s confidence and self-esteem.

HARDEST PART: “Sometimes patients cannot be helped as much as you would like, because they have had extensive trauma and your help is limited no matter what you do. That can be very difficult,” Mr Loyer says.