Keratoconus is actually a disease of the surface of the eye. The front surface called the cornea and it’s like a clear window to the eye.
But the problem with keratoconus is that actually with the front surface has the central part called the stroma now the stroma actually begins to degrade over time and it actually begins to then thin so when that happens the thinning of the frontal part front part of the eye the cornea begins to thin and then it actually begins to bulge out in the same shape as the shape of a cone.
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| Keratoconus Eye Vs Normal Eye Image Source- Flickr | Image by- Keratomania |
Keratoconus is actually a bilateral disease it happens in both eyes however it’s most likely asymmetric so for most people, it’ll be more advanced in one eye than the other but it generally does present in both eyes.
Types of Keratoconus
Mild Keratoconus
Now some people can have really mild keratoconus that’s not really affecting their vision they can usually just continue with glasses, regular kind of soft contact lenses.
Advanced Keratoconus
People who get really advanced, moderate to advanced keratoconus they have significant visual issues they actually have really irregular astigmatism.
Astigmatism can cause a really distorted vision so people with really moderate and advanced levels of keratoconus will end up having excessive amounts of kind of blurry in their vision and that could significantly affect their visual acuity so they may have difficulty learning in school
Keratoconus is a progressive disease so even if you have it really mildly early on in life, it usually progresses actually the earliest age.
What are the Different Stages of Keratoconus?
1. First Stage– Sudden weakening of eyesight is its first sign at this stage you think of it as a normal and vision is corrected with glass but if at this stage the checkup is not proper then it becomes more and more in the future.
2. Second Stage– Blur in eyesight.
3. Third Stage– After blurring in vision, the stage comes when you not able to get proper vision with glasses from local optical. This is the stage when everybody goes for higher treatment and comes to know about their eye problem.
What are the causes of the Keratoconus?
1. It’s a kind of enzyme degradation of the corneal fibers the collagen fibers of the cornea get degraded and that causes them to thin and weaken.
2. Keratoconus is due to the weakening in the eye fiber named “collagen” which is important to hold the cornea.
3. Keratoconus runs in families that means if you have a Keratoconus then it might be pass on to the next generation. So it is better to have an eye checkup with your family.
Pro Tips to save your eyes from Keratoconus
Pro-tip for everybody who has keratoconus or somebody who has really bad allergies of the eyes is eye rubbing so you’ve probably heard at some point the doctor says don’t rub on the eye really hard and the whole idea is that when you rub a really hard on your eye, you actually cause really kind of like these micro damages to the collagen fibers of the eye and when you cause the damage to the corneathere then those enzymes try to repair the damaged tissue and they actually end up causing it to get worse.
So, people who rub their eye really badly and they have keratoconus it may actually cause keratoconus to advance even faster so yeah if you’ve got keratoconus try to do best to stop rubbing your eye if you have bad allergies or something like that talk to your doctor about your allergy so you can get you on oral medications or eyedrops or something that you can do to help control the itching and irritation.
What is the Treatment of Keratoconus?
1. Corneal Cross-Linking
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| Corneal Cross-Linking |
One is going to be what’s called corneal cross-linking(C3R) so corneal cross-linking was approved in the United States here in 2016 it had been out much longer out in Europe in Europe and in Canada but it’s actually a process where they use riboflavin which is Vitamin b2 and then they use ultraviolet A light (UVA) specifically to actually activate some cells on the surface of the eye and get them to strengthen.
This is really kind of a revolutionary treatment especially for keratoconus because again the keratoconus is a progressive disease it actually gets worse overtime but with corneal cross-linking you can basically stop it or at least slow it down from getting worse so this is basically kind of the first thing that comes to mind of most ophthalmologists.
Corneal cross-linking is done by a corneal specialist this is your ophthalmologist there’s you know every state usually has a couple of them.
How this process of corneal cross-linking works?
They actually put riboflavin the vitamin b2 it’s a certain mixture it’s not just pure riboflavin. Its actually a medication that’s put on the eye and then they shine the UV light on it and that causes the collagen fibers to stiffen and strengthen and that actually has been really just proven over the last couple of years to really help people with keratoconus.
2. Intra Corneal Ring Segments
In this a plastic ring that’s actually put into the cornea and that actually causes the cornea to plateau out it actually smooths out the cone of the surface of the eye and that’s really to help reduce advancing problems with myopia or nearsightedness as well as really bad astigmatism because again you’re into the moderate and severe stages of keratoconus your astigmatism is so irregular that it causes problems with your vision and it’s difficult to get correction with glasses and contacts so if inter corneal ring segments.
3. Soft and Hard Contact Lenses(RGP Lenses)
Another treatment that is good for you, your surgeon, your eye care professional will talk about that option is kind of getting more into people who have really mild keratoconus if you have really mild or moderate keratoconus the standard treatment is actually with glasses and contacts no we got a couple of contacts.
Another one is hard rigid gas permeable or our GP lens than our GP lenses actually work great because they mask a lot of the distortions of the surface of the eye from the keratoconus, There’s actually a specialty kind of hard lenses.
Best hospitals for C3R surgery in India: 2021
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Hospital Name |
City/State |
Address |
Phone Number |
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Spectra Eye Care Hospital |
New Delhi |
E-82-A, Greater Kailash-1, New Delhi, 110048 |
081309 29913 |
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Max Hospital, Saket
|
New Delhi |
Press Enclave Marg, Saket Institutional Area, Saket, New Delhi, Delhi 110017 |
011 2651 5050 |
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Fortis Memorial Research Institute |
Haryana |
Sector-44, Opposite HUDA City Centre, Gurugram, 122002 |
0124 716 2200 |
|
BLK Super Specialty Hospital
|
New Delhi |
Pusa Rd, Radha Soami Salsang, Rajendra Place, 11005 |
011 3040 3040 |
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Centre For Sight Eye Institute |
New Delhi |
Plot No.9, Dwarka Sector 9, 110075 |
011 4250 4250 |
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PGIMER |
Chandigarh |
Madhya Marg, Sector-12, 160012 |
0172 274 7585 |
Other Best Hospitals for C3R Surgery in India: 2021
- Narayana Super Specialty Hospital.
- Global Group of Hospital.
- Artemis Specialty Hospital.
- Apollo Spectra Hospital.
- Global Group of Hospital.
- BLK Super Specialty Hospital.
- Max Super Specialty Hospital.
- Nanavati Super Specialty Hospital.
- Jaslok Specialty Hospital.
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C3R surgery cost in PGI Chandigarh: 2021
C3R Operation Kit: Rs 16000- Rs17000 per eye.
Operation Fee: Rs 300 – Rs 500 per eye.
Eye Drops: Rs 1000- Rs 1500 per eye.
Total Average Cost: Rs 20000 per eye.
C3R average cost in private hospitals in India
Average Cost: Rs 40000 – Rs 50000+ per eye.
Keratoconus: C3R surgery cost- United States
Corneal Cross-Linking Cost: $2500-$4000 per eye.
Intacs Treatment Cost: $1500- $2200 per eye.
Corneal Transplant: $12500- $13000 per eye.
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