What is usually done for keratoconus?
The vast majority of patients with keratoconus can be visually corrected with special gas permeable contact lenses which we fit in our office. These patients may require many lens changes over a lifetime as the cornea is constantly changing. The corneal thinning may stop or progress at any age. In some cases we need to use a “piggyback” modality in which a gas permeable contact lens and a soft contact lens is used on the same eye simultaneously. In less than 10% of cases, a corneal transplant may be needed. Corneal transplants are the most successful of all organ transplants with a success rate of greater than 96% in patients with keratoconus. New Treatment for Improving Keratoconus There is now a treatment to halt the progression and future deterioration of the cornea due to keratoconus. It’s called C3-RSM and consists of applying a one-time dose of riboflavin drops to the cornea and exposing the cornea to a low amount of ultraviolet A light. The activated riboflavin enhances corneal
