What is Keratoconus and what are the symptoms

Keratoconus is the most common dystrophy of the cornea, affecting around one person in a thousand. The cause of keratoconus is unknown. It is typically diagnosed in the mid to late teens and attains its most severe state in people’s twenties and thirties.

Keratoconus is a degenerative non-inflammatory disorder of the cornea (the front window of the eye) and generally affects both eyes. The underlying problem is weakness of the supporting collagen fibres in the cornea. This makes the cornea structurally and bio-mechanically “weak”. As a result, the cornea assumes a more conical shape with resultant irregular astigmatism.

The progression of keratoconus can be quite variable, with some patients remaining stable while others progress rapidly or experience occasional exacerbations over a long and otherwise steady course. A genetic predisposition to keratoconus has been observed, with the disease running within families in 10% of all cases.

Keratoconus is diagnosed from the patient’s history, a detailed slit-lamp examination as well as sophisticated corneal imagery, which can assess the profile/topography of the cornea.

Symptoms can include substantial distortion of vision (astigmatism), with multiple images, blurry (for both near and distance vision) vision and sensitivity to light (photophobia). Initially most people can correct their vision with glasses. But as the astigmatism worsens, most patients can be managed with specially fitted rigid gas permeable or, very often these days, specially-designed soft contact lenses to reduce the distortion and provide better vision. Symptoms may be unilateral initially and may later become bilateral. In 20% of patients, the condition is progressive and requires surgical intervention. if you experience one or more of these symptoms, contact your ophthalmologist for a complete exam.

Signs of keratoconus can be seen during a routine eye examination. These may include high degrees of astigmatism when checking a glasses prescription, or changes in the cornea as seen through the slit lamp microscope during an examination.  The diagnosis is often confirmed using corneal topography, photographs that measure the curvature of the cornea and highlight irregularities consistent with keratoconus.

One of the most effective methods for treating Keratoconus is the Refined TransPRK method. Refined TransPRK is a non-invasive surgical procedure without the need for cutting and bloodshed that uses laser energy to correct cornea. The treatment of Refined TransPRK is tailored to each patient according to the characteristics and conditions of each patient. Because transcriptional transfusion surgery is a non-invasive technique, inflammatory responses and sensitivity to light radiation after surgery are reduced, and therefore, the possibility of pain and blurred vision of patients after surgery is more than other methods, such as corneal transplantation Less intensity.

Reference:

https://www.clampoptometrists.com/keratoconus

https://www.umkelloggeye.org/conditions-treatments/keratoconus