Keratoconus is an eye disease concerning the cornea, which can gradually lead to a noticeable worsening or even a complete loss of vision. Modern ophthalmic medicine may not be able to heal keratoconus completely yet, but it can slow it down and stabilize it successfully.
Keratoconus, a degenerative disease of the cornea, troubles mostly young patients between the ages of twenty to thirty years and concerns circa 0,5% of the world´s population. Keratoconus can develop quietly over an extended period of time. Its characteristic symptoms are an irregular thinning of the cornea´s thickness and its arching. Later on, it can become apparent through astigmatism (an irregular corneal curvature), which cannot be corrected with any type of glasses. When the thinning of the cornea exceeds a certain threshold, a swelling can occur, as well as a worsening and „blurring“ of the vision. In some cases, the cornea can even tear. The ultimate solution is a corneal transplantation from another donor. There are, however, too few donors, and the patient´s immune system may not accept a foreign cornea.
For a long time, the standard treatment used to be hard contact lenses, but not all patients can use them without any problems. The progress of ophthalmic medicine brings its keratoconus patients a new hope. „We combine several steps – with the so- called CCL method (Corneal Cross Linking), we irradiate the corneal tissue with ultraviolet light rays and use eye drops to strengthen the corneal structure. This approach is mostly used in less advanced stages of the keratoconus. However, a combination with the laser refractive surgery with the PRK method is possible as well. Later on, kerarings are used, alternatively in combination with the CCL method. They stabilize the overall state of the cornea and help the vision acuity,” as was pointed out by our specialists for the keratoconus treatment.
A healthy cornea of the human eye has a round form and is transparent. Any changes to its form or transparency have an essential influence on the acuity of a person´s vision.
Keratoconus is a disease of the eye´s cornea, which causes the cornea to arch and become thinner over time.
Gradually, and very often completely unnoticeably, the vision acuity becomes worse. Keratoconus usually develops between the 10th and 20th year of life, and can develop very slowly, over ten to twenty years. The state cannot be corrected through any type of glasses very successfully.
The causes of keratoconus are not yet completely clear. Genetic factors contribute to its development, as well as mechanic influences, and it also appears to be related to general allergic diseases.
Just a few years ago, keratoconus only used to be treated with the help of hard contact lenses and in more advanced stages the only solution was a corneal transplantation. At our Eye Clinics we place a fundamental emphasis on an early diagnosis of keratoconus and especially the early beginning of its treatment. The main goal of the treatment is to slow the keratoconus down and to postpone the corneal transplantation that way. During the treatment, we use the most modern proven methods:
A cornea with the implanted corneal ring – keraring.
