Keratoconus - Cross linking

An explanation by Dr. Aleksic’s treatment centre optometrist, Rianda.
Dr. Zoran Aleksic FCS (SA) Ophth, is an eye surgeon and Ophthalmologist specialising in cataract and laser refractive surgery (Lasik / PRK laser refractive surgery for short sightedness, far sightedness and astigmatism). Dr. Aleksic’s treatment centre is located in Sea Point in Cape Town.
Dr. Zoran Aleksic and his team have long been recognised both in South Africa and the rest of the continent for providing high quality eye care with a full spectrum of treatments, from prescribing glasses and contact lenses to complex and delicate eye surgery using the latest technological equipment, all in a relaxed and professional environment.
Visit our website: www.eyesurgery.co.za
Transcript:
Cross Linking:
If you are younger than the age of 40, what will we will definitely advise you
to do once you've been diagnosed with keratoconus is to do a procedure that we refer to as
cross-linking. As your cornea protrudes in a young person, your tissue is pliable/flexible and it can gradually get worse so your cone just becomes more cone shaped and cone-shaped and your cornea in that area becomes thinner and thinner. We want to stop the progression and we want to strengthen your corneal tissue in order to stop the progression.
Cross-linking entails is a procedure that doctor does at the Life Peninsula Hospital Eye Clinic. It takes place in a day clinic. Doctor will soak your eye with vitamin B. You'll take the first layer of cells of your cornea off. Then he will tan the cornea by exposing it to a UV light and the UV light will stiffen the tissue of your cornea. This procedure must be very clearly understood: it is not to make your vision better. It is just to stop the progression of the condition that's called keratoconus and once you're older than the age of 40 your tissue is much stiffer so the chance that you will progress from there onwards is unlikely.
We advise you to as soon as possible (as soon as you are diagnosed) to do the corneal cross-linking procedure. It is also advisable for you to if you have children to check them as well or if you have a brother or a sister or one of your children has been diagnosed check the brothers and sisters as well because it is hereditary.
After the corneal cross-linking doctor will put a bandage contact on because he removed the outer layers (the first layer of cells from your cornea). You'll be extremely scratchy and you won't be able to blink your eyes so we put the contact lens on for you to be able to blink with less discomfort. You will use an antibiotic drop and anti-inflammatory drop and lubricant first few days after corneal cross-linking.
You need to be able to take a few days off if you're at work. Five days later when you come and see us for a follow up doctor will make sure that the cells of the cornea have formed completely towards the center so that the whole area has regenerated. Then we can remove the contact lens. Again just be clear you don't expect your vision to be better we're just trying to stop the progression.
A week or two later when you feel comfortable that's when you get fitted with a hard contact lens or a scleral contact lens for you to get the best optical quality. We will advise six to nine
months later that we want to repeat the scan of your eye of the topography of your eye to make sure that it is not getting thinner and actually did stop the progression.