A Biracial Man Faces ‘Scary’ Toll After Changing Eye Color Through Risky Surgery

Ever wanted to change your eye color? Well, one company has made that dream a reality. However, it comes with a few risks.

The new documentary Caterpillar follows down-on-his-luck David Taylor as he gets an opportunity to change his eye color from brown to green through a controversial procedure. He embarks on the journey, hoping it will transform his life.

Taylor reaches out to the company BrightOcular to ask for the artificial iris implant surgery. The man shares his desire to have “light eyes,” mentioning his experience with racism as a biracial man and his bittersweet memory of his father’s green eyes.

Unable to afford the surgery, Taylor offers to promote his experience with the company as payment.

Moved by his story, BrightOcular invites him to join a group of others to get the procedure done at a hospital in India in exchange for promotional materials. The company tells him the surgery “is life changing” and he will “feel better and look better” as a result. 

But as Liza Mandelup’s documentary reveals, the cosmetic procedure takes a heavy physical and emotional toll.

According to the BrightOcular website, the product is “a United States-developed artificial iris implant made of a thin, flexible, biocompatible, colored medical grade silicone used for permanent eye color change procedure.”

The implants have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the procedure is not available in the United States, per BrightOcular. Though, the company states, it is legal to have the procedure done in “several clinics across the world,” including India. BrightOcular did not respond to a request for comment on Caterpillar.

In the documentary, a female client asks the doctor performing the surgery if he would do the procedure on himself, to which he simply responds, “No, I’m happy with the color of my eyes.” When further questioned, he tells the client that she can live without the procedure and “should avoid doing it… because there are chances of side effects.”

The woman, however, decides to proceed with the surgery, along with Taylor and the other two people in the group. 

Per BrightOcular, potential complications include infections, high pressure in the eye, glaucoma, inflammation of the iris, swelling in the cornea, loss of cells around the cornea, deterioration of the iris and more. 

Taylor has a particularly rough time with the surgery, as an alleged packaging mishap causes him to receive the incorrect eye color, leaving him with jade green eyes instead of frost gray. After expressing his frustration, he goes ahead with the procedure, repeating what BrightOcular told him earlier: “It’s going to make my life better.”

With his new eye color, Taylor navigates his life with newfound confidence. He defends himself against criticism from his mom, and moves to New York City and reconnects with old friends. 

But as time passes, he feels as though “something’s not right” with his implants, detailing “throbbing” headaches, sensitivity to light and watery eyes. He visits a local doctor, who tells him there’s “no collateral damage” to his eyes, but the implants need to be removed.

The implants, the doctor says, are “just sitting somewhere where there’s no anatomical place for them to sit.”

Taylor says he does not have the money or resources to get the implants removed. “This is scary, this s— is scary… another operation,” he says, knowing his eyesight is on the line.

Despite Taylor’s rocky experience, he ultimately expresses gratitude for the surgery. “I’m happy that I got to try a dream. The eyes don’t make me. I’m growing into the person I want to be,” he says. 

Mandelup, who previously directed 2019’s Jawline, says in a Q&A provided by No Deed Entertainment that she was shocked the patients were unswayed by the doctor’s warning prior to getting the surgery.

“The doctor there had warned all the patients of the risks involved in this and said he himself wouldn‘t do this procedure. But yet we were filming with a group of people who decided to do it anyway,” she said. 

“That felt very tough to witness, but I also felt like it showed the depths of searching for something to solve your problems and make you feel better and how far you will go to feel more excited to look at yourself,” Mandelup continued. 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A 2018 study found that “cosmetic iris implants, including the newer generation of BrightOcular devices, have been shown to have severely detrimental effects on corneal integrity.”

“These devices should not be implanted, and removal on an urgent basis should be recommended to mitigate risks to ocular health and preserve vision,” the study stated. 

The study observed a 41-year-old male who experienced “decreased vision in both eyes” about two years after receiving the BrightOcular implants in Mexico. 

Caterpillar is now playing in theaters.