Keratoconus

Aug 04, 2016

Keratoconus is the progressive steepening of the cornea, the front layer of the eye. When this happens, patients’ vision decreases. Multiple images, distortion, and a streaking appearance around bright lights commonly frustrate these patients. While this disease is usually diagnosed during adolescence, keratoconus can affect a wide range of ages.

A new treatment for keratoconus, corneal cross-linking, has been approved by the F.D.A. Corneal cross-linking applies ultraviolet light over a solution that is applied to the patient’s cornea. This treatment strengthens the collagen strands of the cornea, thus helping to stabilize the patient’s cornea.

Other treatment options involve soft contact lenses for mild cases as well as scleral contact lenses and corneal transplants in severe cases.

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