Keratoconus (KC) is a thinning disorder of the cornea that causes visual distortion. It causes the cornea to thin & bulge to a cone-like shape, distorting vision.
The earliest signs of keratoconus are usually blurred vision and frequent changes in eye glass prescription, or vision that cannot be corrected with glasses. Symptoms of keratoconus generally begin in late teenage years or early twenties, but can start at any time.
Keratoconus, especially in the early stages can be difficult to diagnose. Keratoconus requires a diagnosis from a competent keratoconus specialist trained in recognizing the symptoms , also observing signs of keratoconus through direct measurement as well as inspection of the cornea at a microscopic level using a slit lamp.
Keratoconus can usually be diagnosed with a slit-lamp examination. The classic signs of keratoconus that the doctor will see when examining your eyes include: Corneal thinning, Fleischer’s ring (an iron colored ring surrounding the cone), Vogt’s striae (stress lines caused by corneal thinning) and Apical scarring (scarring at the apex of the cone).
Corneal topography and Pentacam: a computerized instrument that make three-dimensional “maps” of the cornea..
Corneal topography and Pentacam has facilitated the diagnosis of keratoconus, helping establish the diagnosis earlier, follow progression more accurately and differentiate keratoconus from other conditions.
Corneal Collagen Cross linking (CXL) is currently the only treatment to stop progression of keratoconus and to avoid corneal transplant. CXL works by increasing collagen crosslink’s which are the natural “anchors” within the cornea. These anchors are responsible for preventing the cornea from bulging out and becoming steep and irregular. CXL has been done for over a decade with good success and has changed the way keratoconus is managed today. We are one of the pioneers of CXL treatments and offer all the techniques of CXL including accelerated cross linking and various combinations of CXL with vision enhancing techniques such as Topo PRK and INTACS.