Although many current treatments can improve vision in keratoconus, they do not treat the underlying cause of the corneal weakness and distortion ie they do not stop the progression of keratoconus. Collagen Cross Linking with riboflavin (commonly known as C3R) is one such treatment modality which stops progressive weakening of the cornea that occurs in keratoconus.

The one hour C3-R treatment is performed in the hospital. During the treatment, custom-made riboflavin eye drops are applied to the cornea, which is then activated by ultraviolet A light(370nm). This amazingly simple process has been shown in laboratory and clinical studies to increase the amount of collagen cross-linking in the cornea and strengthen the cornea. In published European studies, such treatments were proven safe and effective in patients.

Keratoconus (KC) is an eye disease in which the central portion of the cornea begins to thin & bulge out. The resulting “cone” shape of the cornea produce a number of unique vision problems including halos, monocular double- vision, ghost images & sensitivity to light.

The various treatment options for keratoconus available at our center are:

1. Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking (C3R/ CXL) :
This is a procedure to strengthen/stiffen the cornea & stop disease progression with the help of UV-A radiation over riboflavin sensitized stromal tissue.

2. Contact Lenses : Rigid gas permeable (RGP) Lenses include:-
– Cornea
– Scleral
– Mini-scleral
Soft contact lenses can be used in early keratoconus cases.

3. Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) : The whole cornea, except the descemets membrane & the endothelium are replaced. Chances of rejection in this procedure are minimal as the endothelium is not replaced. It can be done in cases of keratoconus or anterior corneal dystrophies & degenerations.