What is Keratoconus?

Keratoconus is a progressive disease of the cornea, often appearing in the teens or early twenties,  in which the cornea thins and changes shape.  Imagine tissue growing through the cornea like a little volcano.  Keratoconus is painful in its last stages and may reqire a corneal transplant.  Symptoms include increased prescription changes, glare, light sensitivity, distorted or blurred vision and nearsightedness.  Keratoconus comes on slowly and patients may have a delayed diagnosis because their practitioner may not be familiar with early stage symptoms.  Our Corneal Topographer can catch this.

What causes Keratoconus?

The causes of Keratoconus are unclear.  A genetic link my exsist as you may find several cases within an extended family.  

Treatment


There is no cure for Keratoconus at this time. However, Rigid Gas Permeable contact lenses help slow down the effects of Keratoconus while improving vision.  The rigid material helps stablize the cornea and retards the progess of the tissue erupting through the cornea.

For later stage Keratoconus, we may suggest "Piggy Back" lens therapy. At this point the cornea has been distorted  to a  degree that it is no longer smooth and rigid lenses will no longer fit properly.  Many times, because of the erruption of tissue,  the lens slides to one side or the other or may continuously fall out.  Imagine your contact lens as a rigid dome that is covering your cornea.  Now imagine that between your cornea and this rigid dome,  someone has placed a tiny pebble. This pebble lifts the lens up and may shift it. Your vision will not be sharp and the lenses will be uncomfortable. By smoothing out the cornea with a soft lens, then fitting a rigid lens over the top,  patients are able to wear lenses comfortably while achieving excellent vision.

We also fit  the Synergize lens, a rigid lens with at soft skirt- good vision, good comfort!

These are but a few ways to fit Keratoconus patients. Dr. Winbigler rarely fits two patients the same way.  Your eye, and it's Keratoconus, is as individual as you are.  Keratoconus is difficult to fit in many cases and often requires an agile and unconventional approach.  Dr. Winbigler enjoys the challenge of  Keratoconus fits.  It has become a large part of his practice.