Gain reliable vision with keratoconus treatment

Keratoconus is a congenital eye disease in which the cornea becomes increasingly thinned and deformed into a cone.

This condition progresses steadily, and you will notice an increasing deterioration in your vision.

Corneal transplantation is a last resort treatment. In most cases, we can avoid transplantation with a treatment called cross-linking.

Dr. Victor Derhartunian was an early adopter of the cross-linking method and can use it in combination with laser treatment to improve vision.

A progressive corneal weakness manifests itself in increasing astigmatism and a steadily changing corneal topography. If the vision is impaired by this process, we can strengthen the cornea with cross-linking.

In the long term, this treatment can often flatten the cornea and making the eye suitable for vision correction treatments such as laser eye surgery.

We can determine your suitability for cross-linking treatment by examining your eyes at your initial assessment.

Cross-linking refers to the strengthening of the fibres of the cornea to stabilise the condition. We do this by applying a combination of riboflavin drops (vitamin B2) and UV irradiation.

Although this cannot reverse the disease, it can at least stop it in its existing state. In many cases, we can improve the irregular corneal shape.

Cross-linking can stop corneal weakness, which leads to stabilisation of the tissue.

Unfortunately, the treatment cannot improve vision.

To improve the vision, we can combine this procedure with other surgical techniques such as laser eye treatment.

Alternatively, we can fit hard/scleral lenses to help maintain the structure of the cornea.

Cross-linking is now a widely used, safe and effective treatment to stop the progression of keratoconus. In addition to the general operational risks, side effects or complications with this method are unknown.

Today, the only way to stop keratoconus is with cross-linking. To achieve visual improvement, we recommend the following treatments:

• Topography guided PRK/TRANS-PRK
• Implantation of corneal ring segments
• Insertion of phakic lenses (ICL)

Cross-linking has been an approved procedure since 2006. Its safety and effectiveness have been confirmed in numerous scientific publications. Medical experts are continuously developing this procedure to improve clinical results.