O ver the years, refractive surgeons have devised strategies for coping with some of the more common complications that can occur after LASIK. Nonetheless, ectasia, a condition characterized by a progressive increase in corneal curvature, remains somewhat of a mystery. Its most likely causes appear to be undetected preoperative keratoconus and excessively deep keratectomies. This article presen...

PURPOSE To survey the standard keratoconus grading scale (Pentacam®-derived Amsler-Krumeich stages) compared to corneal irregularity indices and best spectacle-corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA). PATIENTS AND METHODS Two-hundred and twelve keratoconus cases were evaluated for keratoconus grading, anterior surface irregularity indices (measured by Pentacam imaging), and subjective refract...

WHY EARLY DIAGNOSIS? In corneal refractive surgery, early diagnosis of keratoconus (subclinical asymptomatic keratoconus) is of great importance in patients seeking surgery because it can prevent progression of the pathology after surgery and make it symptomatic (corneal ectasia), thus creating the need for diagnostic tests that provide high sensitivity (ability to detect the disease in affecte...

PURPOSE To evaluate corneal cell morphology in patients with keratoconus using an in vivo slit scanning confocal microscope. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the corneal cell morphology of 47 keratoconus patients and 32 healthy eyes without any ocular disease. New keratoconus patients with different disease severities and without any other ocular co-morbidity were rec...

PURPOSE To report a keratoconic eye that developed severe sterile keratitis and corneal scar after collagen crosslinking necessitating corneal transplantation. CASE REPORT A 26-year-old man with progressive keratoconus underwent collagen crosslinking and presented with severe keratitis 72 hours after the procedure. The initial impression was infectious corneal ulcer and a fortified antibiotic...

Synopsis: Didactic approach to the management of progressive cornea ectasia associated with keratoconus and refractive surgery. Several surgical treatment modalities utilized internationally will be presented, including: collagen cross-linking with ultraviolet radiation A in order to halt ectasia, combined in some cases with a customised excimer laser ablation to facilitate visual rehabilitatio...

Background. Keratoconus is a relatively common corneal disease causing significant visual disability. Individuals with connective tissue disorders that affect the skin such as Marfan's syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or patients with atopic dermatitis show an increased prevalence of keratoconus. It seems that there are some concurrent alterations of skin and cornea in patients with keratoco...

I ntrastromal corneal rings and ring segments work in accordance with the postulates of Barraquer and Blavatskaya, which state that an addition in the periphery of the cornea will result in its flattening. The thickness and diameter of the implant determine how much the cornea will be flattened. That is, the more tissue that is added (ie, ring thickness) and the smaller its diameter, the greate...

IMPORTANCE A reliable tool for quantification of the biomechanical status of the cornea in conjunction with corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) treatment is needed. OBJECTIVE To quantify the biomechanical effects of CXL in vivo. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A prospective, open, case-control study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. Participa...

Intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) are small synthetic implements designed to achieve refractive adjustment by flattening the cornea. Three common types of commercially available ICRS are Intacs, Keraring and Ferrara rings. Low myopia was the initial indication for implantation of ICRS, and indications later included ectatic corneal diseases (such as keratoconus and pellucid marginal degeneratio...