Corneal Collagen Crosslinking with Riboflavin or (C3-R) is a relatively new treatment. In past decades surgeons would have to perform a corneal transplant to improve the vision of Keratoconus patients. Now they have developed a new treatment that helps strengthen the cornea and stop the damage that Keratoconus patients could suffer from this progressive disease.

The Treatment Application-

C3-R is directed under the epithelial cell layer. Located on the surface of the cornea. The surgeon will apply anesthesia drops on the surface of the eye. Then disrupt the epithelial cell layer. So the Riboflavin eye drops will penetrate the stromal portion of the cornea, which is the layer under the epithelium. The Riboflavin drops are then placed on the surface of the cornea.

A small UVA light is shone over the eye for about 30 minutes to activate the solution. The procedure is relatively comfortable if the epithelium layer is only disrupted rather than removed. Some surgeons removed the layer, which makes the first week of the procedure uncomfortable. Be sure to check with your doctor to see if they perform the epi-on or epi-off technique.

There are several benefits of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking below are a few:

Strengthens the cornea with less evasive procedures- The solution will improve the strength of the cornea over 3-6 months after treatment. It only requires a one time application. And there are less risks associated with C3-R as appose to corneal transplant.

Can be combined with INTACS to reverse damage to the cornea- C3-R treatment can be mixed with INTACS reduce the cone shape of the cornea. After the 3 year follow up doctors found that it stopped the increase of cornea curvature values and flattened the mean cone.

C3-R Stabilizes Progressive Ectasia- C3-R can give some relief from Progressive Ectasia. It has been proven to stabilize progressive Ectasia. While it is not a complete cure there are high hopes for further treatments of Ectasia.

The benefits of C3-R many. Surgeons are further studying and researching C3-R and INTACS. Without question medical sciences are growing rapidly. And each day we are improving the treatments for Keratoconus and other troubling diseases. There is no need to suffer with Keratoconus. Patients now have a wide array of treatments to help them with the progression of this condition.

Tags: C3-R, Collagen crosslinking, Corneal transplant, Intacs, Keratoconus, Keratoconus Inserts

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 9:37 pm and is filed under Keratoconus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.