Unlike the normal round shape of the cornea, keratoconus has a conical shape that distorts the vision. Those who suffer this illness have difficulties to develop a normal life.
Normal eye
Eye with keratoconus
What are the symptoms of a person with Keratoconus?
Blurred vision and the need to wear glasses will progress gradually as this disease is progressive.
In advanced cases, scarring develops on the surface of the cornea causing more decrease of the vision.
Can a person become blind for Keratoconus?
Yes, there have been cases where the severity of keratoconus has caused an important corneal opacification (leucoma).
What is the treatment for keratoconus?
Not long ago, the only treatment that modified the evolution of keratoconus was a cornea transplant; today, luckily, before reaching this point other interventions can be made very effectively and less traumatically to slow down the advance of the illness: crosslinking and the intrastromal corneal rings.
Crosslinking: this procedure determines the generation of new unions or bridges between the chains of the corneal collagen, altered in the carriers of Keratoconus.
The intervention is indicated for those patients who present weakness in the corneal structure due to its mild or moderate keratoconus, and have never undergone surgery or, for patients that already have intrastromal corneal rings (ICR). It can also be proposed to those who are on the waiting list for a corneal graft.
Intrastromal corneal rings implantation: The intraestomal corneal rings are made of PerspexCQ, an acrylic material totally biocompatible that has been used for over twenty years in the making of eye implants, therefore, is well tolerated by the body without risk of rejection.
Moreover, since it is a surgery of minimum invasion, it can be combined with the technique of crosslinking, however it’s not recommended to do both treatments simultaneously since the postoperative recovery can turn out to be quite uncomfortable.
Meet the surgeons specializing in Cornea: Dr. Adriana Lotfi and Dr. Juan Carlos Grandin.
