This is perhaps one of the most common misperceptions new patients have about artificial eyes. I think Hollywood has done an excellent job perpetuating this myth! Imagine the round wooden eye rolling down the deck of the pirate ship in Pirates of the Carribbean. While it is possible that an artificial eye could be made in this shape, it would be VERY rare. Most artificial eyes are shaped in what we call the reform shape, where the front is curved similar to a natural eye and the back is impression molded to the existing tissue. The existing tissue owes its shape to the orbital implant – which most often is a sphere. The resulting shape of the artificial eye is like a large contact. The thickness is determined by the space between where the orbital tissue is and where the front of the cornea should be on a natural eye. Our regards to Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew, but this one is a myth!