Keratoconus Treatment
Corneal Implants for Keratoconus Vision Problems
Did you know that vision problems are not only limited to nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism? Keratoconus is another eye condition which can cause double vision, halo effect when looking at streetlights, difficulty in reading street signs and more.
Keratoconus (often abbreviated and known as KC) is a thinning disorder of the cornea that causes distortion and reduced vision. As a corneal disease, it makes the cornea weak and gradually the cornea bulges outward. It affects 1 person in every 2000 and affects both men and women alike.
Initially, the bulging presents itself as astigmatism. Note however that not all astigmatism is due to keratoconus. For mild keratoconus, glasses may help. In advanced keratoconus, your cornea may be scarred and this will disturb vision. Your vision starts deteriorating and contact lenses and glasses may no longer help.
Keratoconus Treatment: Intacs Procedure
To treat keratoconus, you can get corneal implants (called Intacs) inserted into your eyes. These implants, made of medical plastic, are placed under the surface of the cornea. They flatten the cornea to reduce visual distortion. The thicker the ring of the implant, the more your cornea will be flattened.
Why Use Intacs?
Intacs corneal implants are the solution for the keratoconus patient who may not be ready for a corneal transplant. Intacs corneal implants is suitable for stabilizing the cornea, improving vision and potentially deferring the need for a corneal transplant. (A corneal transplant is an invasive surgical procedure, where a section of your cornea is removed and replaced with donor tissue. It is a delicate surgery with a long recovery period.)
Intacs corneal implants help you reshape your cornea and you don’t need to remove any part of your cornea. Recovery period is also quick with immediate vision improvement.
Intacs Now Offered at Adventist Vision Centre
At the Adventist Vision Centre, the Intacs surgical procedure is carried out using the IntraLase Femtosecond laser. The IntraLase implantation is more comfortable, much safer and more accurate compared to conventional mechanical method. You won’t feel the Intacs implants as they are placed beneath the cornea’s nerve endings and they are hardly visible unless you look very closely.
The Intacs procedure takes about 15 to 20 minutes per eye.
You will still experience some myopia and astigmatism after the surgical procedure. But after undergoing the Intacts procedure, correcting myopia and astigmatism will be much easier with glasses or contact lenses.
Benefits of Intacs Corneal Implants for Keratoconus:
- Safe, removable and replaceable
- Reduces myopia and astigmatism associated with keratoconus
- Restores shape of cornea
- Minimal surgery
- Short recovery period compared to corneal transplant
- May potentially delay need for corneal transplant
- Approved by the FDA
How the Intacs Procedure Works
Intacs are specially designed crescent-shaped implants, which are placed under the surface of the cornea. They flatten the steep part of the cornea to reduce vision distortions. The thicker the ring, the more it will flatten the cornea and the better the vision correction.
The ring segments flatten your cornea similarly to the way you can flatten the top of a tent by pushing on the sides.
The Intacs procedure takes about 15 to 20 minutes per eye. Depending on the degree of Keratoconus, one or two Intacs implants are inserted underneath the cornea surface.
