Keratoconus
Content
Description
Keratoconus is a disease of the cornea, which is manifested by gradually worsening vision, double vision, increased sensitivity to light.
A healthy cornea is round in shape, but in this disease it becomes cone-shaped and thinner (hence keratoconus).
Since there is a gradual deterioration of vision, treatment is mainly by surgery.
Facts
- Local anesthesia
- Outpatient procedure
- Procedure lasts about 1.5 - 2 hours
- Sight will be adjusted within 6 weeks
As the cornea deforms its shape, the refraction of light changes and the patient has blurred vision.
The visual errors are combined (myopia and astigmatism), gradually worsen and are very difficult to correct with glasses. Deterioration of vision occurs gradually after the age of 10 and during adolescence.
Keratoconus is often diagnosed in patients with other diseases such as Down's syndrome, Marfan's syndrome, as well as in patients with atopic eczema, asthma and in allergy sufferers. A familial occurrence is noted. The reason but still remains unknown.
Specialized eye examinations such as corneal topography, keratometry and optical corneal topography are used to diagnose keratoconus.
The early stages can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses (hard contact lenses), but for the combined refractive error a surgery is necessary.
Different surgical approaches are used in the treatment of keratoconus:
- Thermokeratoplasty is a surgical method in which the surface ot the cornea is restored with the help of a laser (the cornea is heated and its stromal collagen fibres are modified). It is rarely used.
- ICRS (Intrastromal corneal ring segment) implantation is a surgical procedure with the insertion of a small plastic semicircular bodies (segments) into the stroma of the cornea. These segments flatten the cornea into the desired shape.
- Corneal Cross-Linking (CXL) is a method that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to improve the stability of the cornea by creating new cross-links between the collagen in the cornea. In order for the UV light to work, the eye must be instilled with dropps containing riboflavin (vitamin B2) drops.
- Corneal transplantation (Keratoplasty) is used for large corneal deformities when the cornea must be removed and replaced with a corneal graft. The entire cornea can be replaced (perforating keratoplasty) or only part of it (lamellar keratoplasty).
All types of operations can be performed under local anesthesia, the procedures take about 1.5 hours - depending on the type and difficulty of the operation.
After all the above-mentioned operations, patient must have antibiotic drops and corticosteroid eye drops.
Photophobia (sensitivity to the sharp light) persists for 2 - 4 days. Vision stabilizes within 6 - 8 weeks. The eye is covered with protective lenses for the first few days.
