Kerasoft IC and K3 Trial

[John Smith]

Well, I'm a way behind Gareth, but I too saw Lynn yesterday. She seemed quite excited to have some grafted eyes to play with!

Early days yet; but at the initial fitting, a comfy lens for the right eye (the one with a PK graft) seemed to be fairly easy to fit, but several attempts at fitting a lens to my left eye (the one with a DALK graft) resulted in either a lens which stuck limpetlike to my eye, or one which lifted at the edge.

My problem appears to be that my DALK graft was very low down on the cornea, so the upper cornea is my own original exceedingly KC steep cornea; and the lower cornea is almost entirely replacement flat cornea. Finding a lens in the trial set proved elusive, but Lynn will be talking to the manufacturers to try and find a lens which should be OK.

My worries about the whole process are:

1. that I hope my right eye will tolerate the soft lens - it used to get on really well with a scleral until post-graft, when 2 hours were the absolute limit.

2. that my left eye's water retention problem is not exacerbated if I cover the cornea with a contact lens.

I'm sure that we'll get solutions to these problems, and answers to the questions.

Watch this space!

[GarethB]

John,

As you have been out of lenses for a while I am sure you will soon catch up.

I too had concernr about water retention as the lack of oxygen with the old Kerasoft 2 material lead to water retention, but the silicone hydrogel did a lot to stop this and now with repeat fittings and the improvements made to the final K3 lens this is no longer a problem so I can now wear a lens all day every day. You are probably like me, you can spot the sysmptoms of water retention early enough before there is a problem. For me I would start to get a very faint rainbow halo round spot lights. I'd remove the lens as soon as possible and within 30 minutes everthing was back to normal.

Hope you get the same tolerance to these as me. I find them so comfortable and that probably helps with the tolerance.

Good luck.

[Lynn White]

Hi Everyone!

I am currently stuck at Schipol airport due to the snow in the UK clso9ng all airports, so getting myself online to pass the time. I was lecturing in Holland at an Optometric Congress - which was interesting because virtually the ONLY lenses for KC here are RGPs followed by a small number of sclerals. Some optoms are trying the SoftPerm and Synergise - but it is actually quite different to the UK. But I digress.....

Just to clarify... 6/5 is not LESS than 6/6, it is better than it. So Gareth is already at motor sport standard as far as when we did the over refraction... we just have to see how goes with the final lenses and whether he changes any more as he settles from the RGPs.

Yes John was fun to fit! However, to clarify again here, I was trying that eye with a few KIC trial lenses to see how well they worked. His cornea is one that is fairly complex and this will have to be a more topography based fitting.

I am sure John won't mind me saying ... but his left graft is a little more problematic that Gareth's. So we do have to be more careful with him!!

Excellent to see the both of you and good catching up!

Lynn

[Speedy]

Are in eyes with advanced keratoconus and Intacs Hybrids (SynergEyes) and Sclerals the better choice (e.g. visual output)? I can't tolerate usual RGPs so my interest in Kerasoft's IC.

Greets to snowy London.

[Andrew MacLean]

Lynne once described Keratoconus as a 'bespoke' condition of the eye. By this, I think, she meant that each of us is different, and even rules like the one you are trying to adduce cannot easily be applied.

The best lens for any of us is the one that suits us best.

Andrew

ps Lynne: enjoy yourself in the airport because if you get back to London you may have to enjoy yourself in another one while they sort out all the other transport links!

[GarethB]

Speedy,

The best way to judge how appropriate a lens is, would be to have a topography and may be a trial fit. As Andrew say KC is a bespoke condition so what in theory should work may not and vice versa.

My hospital said soft lenses would not work for me but I still made them have a go. They were correct but not for the reasons they gave me. The old Kerasoft 2 lenses did not allow enough oxygen through, but the silicone hydrogel K3 lenses and their slightly different design do work. Hospital still have their reservations, but I hope to have Lynn with me at my next appointment to help educate them

[rosemary johnson]

Crumbs, Lynn, commiseratons on having to endure Schipol!
I've changed planes there a few times, but only once tried getting on and off there - it has joined my list of "never again" experiences, if not quite as high as H**thr*w, not too far behind.
HOpe you're surviving still when you get to read this.
Have to say I was so!! relieved to be able to get direct flights to Zestienhoven (Rotterdam) again.
Have you any news on how the trial is going overall? How many volunteers have you got now, and are you still looking for more recruits?
Rosemary

[Lynn White]

Hi Rosemary!

Well I got back around midnight after an entire day at Schipol. Actually, some parts were not that bad - despite all the UK flight s being cancelled,it never got remotely crowded. What I did find bizarre that amongst all the airport shops, there was not a pharmacy? Luckily, all I was looking for was some lipsalve but if had had a headache or something I would have been out of luck.

Trials... they are really drawing to a close now but I am still on the look out for unusual corneas.

Lynn

[Speedy]

I am not sure where are the main differences between the IC and K3. Where are the advantages?

[GarethB]

Having had a trial fit for both there is little from a patient perspective. From chatting with Lynn it is more the design of the lens properties, she will give more detail.

We thought IC would work for my grafted left eye as it is very flat but still an irrecular cornea (IC) and the K3 for my grafted right eye which exhibits more keratoconus properties. We could get good results for the left eye, but do to the KC properties of the right it just would not work, well not at this stage but psibly with more fetling?