Re: Intacs & cross link
Posted: Sun 12 Jan 2014 11:36 pm
Just listened to the testimonial on the Boxer Wachler Web Site. Sounds very good. I just wonder if any one from the UK has been to see him and how did they get on?
Hi and welcome back,
I think there have been only a few forum users who have had Intacs and CXL combined and they may have stopped looking at the forum, which is why you haven't had any replies. I've copied below an extract from a talk we had at one of our recent meetings from the Corneal Fellow at Moorfields about Intacs (ICRS).
"Corneal ring implants (ICRS) are designed to flatten the cornea. The rings are made of PMMA and made in different diameters and different lengths.
Ring insertion can be combined with CXL or as a stand-alone procedure. If combined with CXL, should this be done pre or post CXL? A randomised trial showed that inserting rings first and performing CXL later produced better results with patients gaining more lines on the eye chart and greater reduction in astigmatism. ICRS is available at Moorfields Eye Hospital; the results of corneal rings, however, are unpredictable."
As for CXL, if you look at the latest guidance from NICE (the body that approves treatments for use in the NHS) http://www.nice.org.uk/IPG466 you'll see that they have now approved epi off CXL for general use, but felt there was still not enough evidence from trials about epi on CXL. Moorfields were hoping to do an epi on trial, but so far haven't managed to get the funding for it.
So it's hard for people with KC to make informed decisions and different surgeons will have different views. And of course, everyone's KC is a bit different, so what works well for one person won't necessarily work as well for someone else!
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Anne