Keratoconus Surgery

The keratoconus surgery is one of the procedures that may be used by the ophthalmologists to correct the defect in the cornea of the eye (the transparent front layer of the eye), known as this case curvature of the cornea of the eye and low thickness resulting in the emergence of the outside cone, causing misty vision and blurring, in addition to high sensitivity to light.

The keratoconus problem can be treated in stages, depending on the degree of injury; it often develops slowly and gradually. The keratoconus treatment trip can begin with wearing glasses or contact lenses. Later, the patient may be transformed into wearing solid contact lenses that allow the gases to pass. Then, in advanced cases, the solution may be performed by a keratoconus surgery.

The treatment in Jordan takes approximately 3 to 6 days, depending on the type of procedure.

Some patients may resort to keratoconus surgery because of severe myopia(Nearsightedness) and inability to see well, in addition a severe astigmatism sometimes due to keratoconus or the result of seeing what looks like double or triple ghost images and fluctuation of vision during the daytime, accompanied by all these cases pain in the head (headache or migraine).

Before confirming the possibility of performing the surgery of keratoconus for the patient, he must undergo some of the examinations required by the ophthalmologist, including:

• A comprehensive examination of the eye, including the measurement of some structures within the eye as well as examination of the level of vision.
• Topography of the cornea; to reveal the thickness and surface of the cornea.

Some patients may suffer from some complications after a keratoconus surgery, such as:

• A slight loss of vision due to eye inflammation or blurring.
• Eye swelling with pain.

Keratoconus surgery has different ways, include:

• Putting plastic rings inside the corneal fibers that raise and tighten it, so that it restore the natural shape using laser beams in a process that takes about one minute.
• Corneal Cross-Linking; fixing the keratoconus (conical cornea) by placing drops of riboflavin (vitamin B2) inside the cornea and then shedding UV rays on the cornea to stimulate the formation of a solid gelatin material called collagen.
• Fixing the keratoconus using microwaves by pouring it on the surface of the cornea in a circle for a second, then heating the cornea to up to 120 degrees and then putting the riboflavin and allow ultraviolet radiation to pass through it.
• In advanced stages of keratoconus, the ophthalmologist first fixes the cornea and then implants the cornea after replacing the damaged either partially or completely. The ophthalmologist relies on a cornea from a donor or it can be purchased from known eye banks, this process takes almost an hour.

Corneal thickness is considered in all treatments of the former keratoconus, that some techniques cannot be used if the cornea is thin.

All the previous procedures of keratoconus treatment take about 30 to 60 minutes to be complete.

The recovery duration after the surgery varies depending on the type of procedure performed. In cases of corneal cross-linking, the patient may experience pain lasting 3 to 5 days, it takes about a week before returning to normal activities.

While conical transplantation may take about one month to rest, after which the patient can return to normal activities, the patient returns after about a year to an ophthalmologist to remove the existing stitches to fix the cornea. The patient is then advised to wear suitable glasses for his case which enable him to have a good and clear vision.