My wife was diagnosed as having keritikonis about 14 years ago. Initially she was treated by having a special contact lens made for her which controled the coning of the cornea. Seven years ago she had the cornea in her right eye replaced. The results of that operation were excellent. She has had no trouble with that eye since and actually has 20/20 vision in that eye. There has not been any indication of rejection.
Her left eye which has very mild keritikonis (which has not changed in the last 5 years) is now unable to tolerate a contact lens (regular lens not keritikonis). The opthamologist says that glasses will rectify the problem. I am concerned that without the contact lens the keritikonis may worsen. Do you have any thoughts on this?
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Answered by Richard E. Gans, M. D. (xx102@ofcn.org)
Keratoconus is a corneal dystrophy that causes the cornea to take on a "cone" shape, that is, it starts to bulge at the center. Because of the irregular curvature that develops, vision deteriorates as keratoconus progresses. Typically, people with keratoconus are nearsighted and have severe astigmatism. If keratoconus is mild, vision can be corrected with glasses, alone. As the irregular astigmatism increases, hard contact lenses are more effective at correcting the vision.
The hard contact lens is not designed to limit the progression of the dystrophy. It is simply the most effective way to achieve quality vision. In fact, hard contact lenses are suspected as one of the causes of corneal scarring in keratoconus. If the disease progresses to such a state that scarring or astigmatism prevent quality vision, a corneal transplant is performed. In this operation, the diseased cornea is removed and replaced with a donated human cornea.
If an individual can obtain good vision with glasses alone, he or she doesn't need a contact lens. If the keratoconus worsens, it would not be due to the lack of a contact lens.
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Copyright, 1994. Richard E. Gans, M.D.
A RICHARD E. GANS, M.D. 11
A A OFCN Primary Sysop, The Eye Clinic 111
AAAAA xx102@ofcn.org 11
A A A C A D E M Y O N E 1111
http://www.ofcn.org:80/about.ofcn/whois/reg/
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
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