Keratoconus Treatment2022-03-07T09:23:44+00:00

Strengthen your cornea and stabilise your vision with keratoconus treatment in Auckland

Discover how these safe and highly effective treatments can preserve your sight

Strengthen your cornea and stabilise your vision with keratoconus treatment in Auckland

Discover how these safe and highly effective treatments can preserve your sight

Stop your vision from worsening with our personalised treatments

Discover how our reliable treatments can safeguard your sight

Keratoconus is a condition in which the cornea (the clear front surface of the eye) develops an irregular conical shape, causing your vision to blur. Several treatments are available, including glasses, contacts, corneal implants and corneal transplants, depending on the stage and severity of your condition.

Eye Institute offers an innovative and highly effective treatment called corneal collagen cross-linking. The purpose of this procedure is to halt the progression of keratoconus. In some people, the treatment may even improve vision.

What is corneal cross-linking?

The treatment uses a combination of riboflavin (vitamin B2) and UV light to form bonds between the collagen fibrils in your cornea. These bonds strengthen the cornea, halting the progression of keratoconus. It can also help flatten the central cornea in about 50% of patients, who often experience better vision as a result.

The procedure is relatively simple and highly effective. It’s also very safe, and complications are extremely unlikely.

Advantages
  • Stop the progression of keratoconus.
  • May improve vision.
  • Avoid more invasive surgery such as corneal transplant.
  • Improve contact lens tolerance
Disadvantages
  • Will not fix vision or cure keratoconus.
Rare complications include:
  • Infection
  • Inflammation
  • Temporary corneal haze
Every patient is different. Your ophthalmologist will recommend the appropriate keratoconus treatment for you. This could include glasses, contacts, corneal implants or corneal transplant surgery.

What to expect from the corneal collagen cross-linking procedure:
Before the procedure, we’ll give you local anaesthetic drops so that you won’t feel any pain.

Your surgeon will carefully and painlessly remove the surface of your cornea.

Riboflavin drops will be applied to your eye for 20 minutes.

We will then apply a measured dosage of UV light to your cornea for a further 10 minutes. Together with the riboflavin, the UV light encourages bonds between collagen fibrils to form, strengthening your cornea.

After the treatment, a bandage contact lens will be placed on your eye to help heal and make your eye more comfortable. You’ll need to keep this in place for a few days. We’ll also give you eye drops to use. Any discomfort during healing is usually mild, and should only last the first few days.

Corneal collagen cross-linking is an exciting new development in keratoconus treatment that could save your sight, especially if you receive treatment early on. Even those who we treat later find that it halts the condition’s progression, preventing the need for a corneal transplant.

Corneal collagen cross-linking is a safe, low complication procedure. It can stop the progression of keratoconus and prevent the need for a corneal transplant.

Gain relief from a worrying eye condition

We understand that any issue with your eyes can be a weight on your shoulders. Book an appointment today, and we’ll help you get to the bottom of your issue and put your mind at ease.

Gain relief from a worrying eye condition

We understand that any issue with your eyes can be a weight on your shoulders. Book an appointment today, and we’ll help you get to the bottom of your issue and put your mind at ease.

Gain visual freedom in 3 easy steps

Eye treatment options can be confusing. We’ve made the journey as straightforward as can be

1. Get in touch

The first step is to call us so we can answer any questions we can on the phone. Give our friendly team a call on 0800 99 2020 or request a call back from us.

2. We’ll meet

At your consultation, we’ll diagnose your issues, answer your questions and give you a clear recommendation based on your needs. You’ll confidently leave with a clear understanding of your treatment options.

3. Enjoy clarity

After treatment, people often tell us how pleased they were that they took action when they did. They’re often so glad that they reached out so that we could address their concerns and help them resolve their troublesome eye condition.

We are proud to be associated with top quality private medical insurers

Give us a call to understand how your insurance can help cover your treatment

Watch the best patient education videos on eye treatment in New Zealand

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Additional resources on corneal disorders and their treatments

Learn more about treating these corneal conditions from authoritative sources.

Keratoconus can be diagnosed through a routine eye exam. Your ophthalmologist will examine your cornea, and may measure its curvature. This helps show if there is a change in its shape. Your ophthalmologist may also map your cornea’s surface using a special computer. This detailed image shows the condition of the cornea’s surface. Click here to read more.

In a first-ever collaboration, 4 supranational cornea societies joined forces in a complex, multistep process to develop the Global Consensus on Keratoconus and Ectatic Diseases.1 A total of 45 keratoconus (KC) specialists—9 section coordinators and 36 expert panelists nominated by the societies—focused on 3 topics: Definition/ Diagnosis, Nonsurgical Management, and Surgical Management. In the article below, 3 of the section coordinators talk about the consensus process, key findings, and next steps for clinicians and researchers involved with ectatic disorders. Click here to read the article.

In the mildest form of keratoconus, eyeglasses or soft contact lenses may help. But as the disease progresses and the cornea thins and becomes increasingly more irregular in shape, glasses and regular soft contact lens designs no longer provide adequate vision correction.

In this case, there are multiple possible treatments for progressive keratoconus. Click here to read more.

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