Keratoconus treatment – a chance to see the world with healthy eyes

Keratoconus is a degenerative, non-inflammatory eye disease. The cornea of ​​the eye becomes thin and takes the form of a cone. This can seriously impair vision, photophobia often develops, the image becomes blurry and doubles. Ophthalmologists give such a diagnosis to about one person in a thousand. Neither nationality nor place of residence affect the pathology prevalence.

Most often, keratoconus is revealed in children, and by twenty or thirty years the disease reaches a severe stage. At the same time, keratoconus almost never causes complete blindness. In general, using contact lenses or adequate therapy is sufficient. If the disease progresses, then surgical intervention is required. The task of treating keratoconus is stop the development of the pathological process and stabilize the condition of the cornea. Without treatment, keratoconus can lead to vision loss.

How to prevent the keratoconus?

There are no preventative measures against the keratoconus development. However, certain treatment methods are known to stop the disease timely. Early detection of the disease plays an important role in avoiding very severe cases in which corneal transplantation is performed.

Lighter forms of the disease are also known, when the symptoms do not appear visually, but are diagnosed by topographic examination. Relatives of patients with keratoconus should undergo an examination, as they can be symptomless carriers of the disease.

Children, adolescents and young people are at particular risk. In this regard, it is necessary to explain the importance of eye examination in these age groups. Now scientists are in search of treatment for violations of the biomechanic properties of the cornea in patients with a specific genetic mutation.

The main cause of keratoconus

Absolutely all processes in your body are controlled by the brain. The cells of your brain receive information from all organs and systems, analyze this information, produce the desired reaction and pass the appropriate orders to the various organs of your body through the nerve cells.

Keratoconus arises from a combination of various factors. These factors lead to a malfunction in certain parts of the brain and a violation of neural connections. In other words, the brain stops giving the “right” orders for the clear operating of your visual system. This leads to keratoconus development and then to the more serious consequences which are noted above.

How to defeat keratoconus?

In the 21st century, an effective and safe method of treating keratoconus appeared. This is cross-linking of corneal collagen molecules. The method saves vision and the ability to lead an active life. This is important, as patients with keratoconus are young people up to 40-45 years old.

Cross-linking was invented in Switzerland. It includes irradiating the cornea with ultraviolet light flux pre-saturated with riboflavin. The depth of ultraviolet exposure is strictly dosed. The result is a densification of the cornea and termination of its stretching. Thus, the disease stops. After that there is a gradual flattening of the cornea, which results in improvement of the visual acuity.

What will happen if you do not receive treatment?

In most cases, the development of keratoconus leads to serious complications that pose a real threat to your health and visual acuity, up to a complete loss of visual function. Among these complications are:

• Astigmatism.

• Diplopia.

• Corneal dropsy.

• Corneal rupture.

• Loss of vision.

If you do not take urgent measures or use ineffective treatment, powerful pathological processes will inevitably start in your body and lead to serious visual impairment. Violation of the integrity of the cornea can cause irreversible effects in the tissues of the eye and lead to complete loss of vision. Only adequate and timely treatment can stop this process.

Nowadays treatment methods

Surgery is recognized as the most effective treatment. At the end of the 20th century, scientists have developed a new technology – ring segments. They are implanted in the cornea and partially align its distorted surface. To do this, an incision with the femtosecond laser is made in the middle part of the cornea. The surgeon introduces one or two thin arches made of polymethyl methacrylate between the layers of the stroma, on either side of the pupil. After this, the incision is closed. The segments are pressed in the opposite direction from the center of the cone and the cornea takes a more normal shape. The operation is reversible. Segments can be removed.

If surgery is not possible, then doctors consider keratoplasty. Almost every fourth patient with a diagnosis of keratoconus can no longer correct vision, as the cornea is either too thin, or scars appear on it. In such situation a doctor will offer end-to-end keratoplasty. With a special tool, the surgeon will remove part of the cornea in the form of a lens, replace it with a donor cornea, and then fix it with sutures. Since there are no vessels in the cornea, the blood type of the donor is not significant. Early healing will take from four to six weeks, and final stabilization will happen in a year or more. But sooner or later, transplant will be viable.

Where to receive keratoconus treatment abroad

Thanks to the development of modern technologies, it became possible to undergo keratoconus treatment abroad. To do this, you can use the Booking Health service. The company will pick up the most suitable keratoconus treatment programs for you in the shortest possible time at affordable prices.