UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi,

I am a 23yr old student and am suffering from Kerataconus, I need to study long hours on the computerit's but my KC is now in advanced stages. Does eye straining activites further detoriate the KC?
I am using disposable soft lenses at the moment and my condition is such that my lens pops out of my eyes when I try to put them on, my eyes are ever watering and paining.
Any suggestions or advice?
I have been visting an opthamologist, but she suggested that I need to carry on with the lenes,as long as i can carry out normal day to day affairs. Presently I am contemplating to go in for a cornea transplant, but I am scared. Could any one tell me about:
1)what is the rate of success of the transplant?
2)How long does it take to get back vision once the operation is done.
3)Does it result in total blindness, if i do not go in for grafting?

Thanks
Sonal

Sonal

Welcome to the forum!

You ask three interesting questions. Your first about the success rate of transplant surgery for people with keratoconus is difficult to answer. I think that the problem lies with different understandings of what counts as success. Some websites suggest that for people with kertoconus, the success rate for corneal transplant may be as high as 95%.

Certainly the short term success rate (the transplanted tissue not rejecting) is very high indeed. Not everybody on the receiving end of a transplant would agree that having grafted tissue that has not rejected is entirely the same thing as having had a successful outcome.

Your second question is also difficult to answer. All I can say is that it took about 18 months for me to get back useful eyesight after my first graft. It really was only when the sutures started coming out that my sight came clear. I know that others have enjoyed far more rapid return to good sight.

Lastly, you ask whether not having a graft might lead to total blindness. I am not sure what you mean, so let me say that I did delay and did become legally blind.

The experience of people here has typically been that we have tried to make lenses last as long as possible before going through surgery; although this is changing as new surgical treatment options become available.

All the best

Andrew

Sonal,

To be honest, contemplating a move from disposable softs to grafting sounds like an enormous leap! If you get good vision from disposable softs and its just the dryness and the fit that seems not quite right, then moving to a soft lens designed specifically for keratoconus seems like a good move in the first instance. Beyond that, there are many other types of contact lenses and also other surgeries such as INTACS and/or Collagen Cross Linking.

Grafting should really be the last resort when there is either extreme thinning or such corneal scarring that you simply cannot see with a contact lens. Although success rates can be good, there is no doubt that if a graft does go wrong, you can't undo it. Whether you go "blind" if you don't have a graft depends entirely on the severity of your keratoconus - a large number of people stabilise and do not continue to deteriorate and maintain reasonable vision.

Much of what you ask depends greatly on your individual case and again, if you are getting good vision from disposables, I really do not think your KC can be that bad yet!

Try to take this one step at a time!

Lynn

Hi Sonal.

There are many so many options available to you before you should even think about a graft. Speak to you optometrist and see if they can provide you with an alternative lens or if you keep getting told to persevere then see if you GP can refer you to a specialist clinic at a hospital?

As Lynn explains, grafting really is the final option.

Good luck and let us know how things develop. If you need a list of available clincs then there is a post on this forum detailing this or feel free to ask here once we know where you are from in the world.

All the best

Jay

Hi Everyone

Thank you everyone for responding with your suggestions.
I am an Indian. (based in Mumbai).
Collagen Crosslinking is not an option for me since my cornea is thin, thickness ranging from 327 to 393 micro metres.
I am not sure what all options I have. I have tried hard lenses and they hurt my eyes.

What all options do I have, in tems of lenses ?
Also can straining my eyes to study aggravate KC?

HI Sonal

There really are many options of lenses - even in the hard ones you describe. I would strongly suggest speaking to your optometrist and she will be able to evaluate the shape of your cornea and give you some options.

I wear scleral lenses which cover the whole eye and I find them very comfortable but what's confotable for me is not for you and what is for you may not be for me!

Let me know what your Optometrist says, but don't worry. I am confident there is a lens there for you.

Re your second question - I would say no but then I am no expert so I wouldn't take that as entirely accurate.

Jay

giddha sonal

i had a cornea graf on the 2nd march and my vision is up to roughly 70%

however
i never had the option to wear a soft lens, it might be worth you getting a second opinion.

only go for the op if its the last resort, ie, no other choice.....

dave singh

Hi SOnal and welcome.
One thing to clarify very quickly: most people who have grafts end up wearing contact lenses (around 50%) or glasses (40%) in the grafted eye once it has settled down.
The graft does not cure the vision, normally, it just makes it easier to correct the vision with contact lenses or specs.
SO if you have problems with lenses, a graft is not likely to help, since there's a 50-50 chance if not more you'll still need lenses after the graft.
Ask about lots of lens options available and try as many as you can.
If your main problem is eyes drying out and sfot lenses popping out, I wonder if lubricating eye drops, or even just splashing more saline in your eyes, would help?
Rosemary

Sonal

I guess you understand that we are not in a position to comment on your local circumstances: we have no direct knowledge of the availability of different lens types or treatment options in Mombai. All we can do is share our experience and (in some cases) expertise that has been gained in the UK.

All the best

Andrew

One of the questions that Sonal has asked, and worries other people as well I guess, is the relationship between long hours with the computer and keratoconus. Are there any studies, or does someone know if the eye strain actually accelerates KC progression?