Intacs followed by Cross Linking?

[Sharon Tuckfield]

Any comments experience would be gratefully accepted regarding having both of the above treatments. My son, who is 22, went to Moorfields today. He has Keratoconus in both eyes the left one being particularly bad. His consultant today suggested that he has a "Corneal ring" or Intacts I think it is called done follwed by the Collagen cross linking about 3 months later. It was a bit of a shock as initially we thought it was just the Cross linking that they were thinking of doing. After having it explained it seems to make sense to have both procedures but as a "worrying" mother I would like some feedback if anyone has experienced these treatments together, yes I know he's 22 but we never stop worrying! He also drives for a living so any sight problems will have a major impact on his life. He is also petrified as I think you have to be "awake" during the procedure............I won't ramble on anymore but would really be grateful for any comments etc. Thank you

[Lynn White]

Hi Sharon,

Its increasingly common to have both procedures done one after the other. The INTACs work to pull the cornea into shape and the cross linking helps to stabilise the result. Quite a few of my patients have had both the procedures done.

I think the main thing to think about is that the cornea tends to fluctuate after either procedure as it settles down, and definitely with both being done. Therefore I would strongly suggest he have the worst eye done first and only have the second eye done when he has stable vision in the worst. Otherwise, this might impact on his driving.

Although both procedures help to make the cornea more regular, they may not remove the need for contact lens correction afterwards, so this is something to bear in mind.

Although awake, you don't feel anything due to the local anaesthetic. The cross linking in particular tends to be fairly uneventful and even a bit boring, as not much happens for a patient's point of view for a good hour except drops being put in.

Lynn

[Sharon Tuckfield]

Thank you so much Lynn for your detailed reply.

At this stage I think the plan is to only treat my son's left eye as that is considerably worse than the other and the deterioration has been much more rapid. His vision is good with contacts but the problem is that as he is an HGV driver his vision needs to be a certain standard without contacts and this is where we are hoping these treatments will help.

He is due to go back to see the consultant in January when we will hopefully know if funding has been given.....I will definately be posting a lot more on here I am sure!

I have to say that I am really fortunate that my Keratoconus stabilised and I only have to wear glasses don't think my son has forgiven me for passing it to him at the level he has it though!! Thank goodness for research and dedication in the medical profession..

Sharon