Keratoconus

Keratoconus is an ocular condition in which the cornea weakens and acquires a conical shape. This is often accompanied by thinning of this part of the cornea, and imperfections in the corneal curvature (astigmatism), which can become increasingly irregular and difficult to correct with glasses and conventional soft contact lenses.

Keratoconus usually occurs in both eyes, but due to significant asymmetry, many patients only notice impaired vision when their stronger eye is affected. By then the condition may already have caused severe and permanent loss of vision in the other eye. The condition usually begins in the late teens or early twenties. Keratoconus is much more common than previously thought. Recent studies have demonstrated that as many as 1 in 500 people may be affected by keratoconus.

Early forms of the disease can be undetected unless advanced scans of the surface of the eye are performed. For mild cases of keratoconus, eyeglasses or soft contact lenses may provide the patient with clear and comfortable vision. For moderate to advanced cases of keratoconus, eyeglasses or soft contact lenses will not provide clear vision, but specialty contact lenses can provide great vision!

There is currently no cure for keratoconus, but at Charlotte Contact Lens Institute, we offer a variety of different management options for keratoconus. Often the best treatment option is a scleral contact lens, and we specialize in both free-form scleral lenses and traditional scleral lenses. Scleral lenses are designed to “vault” over the cornea and land on the white part of the eye.

Since scleral contact lenses are designed to avoid contact with the cornea, the wearer should feel entirely comfortable wearing them. The goal of scleral contact lens wear is to achieve clear vision without the sensation of having a contact lens in the eye.

As mentioned above, Dr. Cerenzie personally has mild keratoconus, and she wears a pair of customized scleral contact lens in her own eyes. In addition to scleral contact lenses, there are other vision correction options for keratonconus, including RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses and custom soft contact lenses.

Charlotte Contact Lens Institute has technology designed specifically for patients with keratoconus. This technology collects up to 240,000 unique data points, and our doctors use this data to design a fully customized scleral contact lens.

Keratoconus typically becomes apparent between the ages of 10 and 25. It usually progresses steadily until about the age of 40, but some patients can experience more rapid progression. The disorder’s progression usually stops around the age of 40, but this may vary from patient to patient. 

Corneal cross-linking (also known as cross-linking) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that uses ultraviolet light and eye drops to strengthen the collagen fibers in the cornea. While corneal cross-linking is helpful with strengthening the cornea and preventing further deterioration of vision, it is important to note that often patients still require scleral lenses to achieve clear vision.

A “cross linking evaluation” is a common type of office visit that we perform to determine if cross-linking may be a good option for your eyes. Many doctors in the Charlotte area refer their patients to our office for cross-linking evaluations, as there are limited offices in the Charlotte area with tomography systems to detect the earliest signs of progression with keratoconus.

If you have questions on keratoconus or want to talk about your specific situation, we can be reached at (704) 800-5230 or hello@charlottecontactlens.com.