UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hello my name is Alex I am 13 years old and i'm going to have cross linking.

I am worried about how the operation will go. i.e how bad it will hurt or whether i will get a local anesthetic or what its like having your i clamped open for an hour so basically just some background info would be great.



Thank-you
Alex

Alex, First of all, let me welcome you to the forum.

Secondly, let me explain why your post has moved. Well, actually, I moved it! Hidden away in "Help and Advice" your question may have gone unnoticed for a long time, so I have moved it to the General Discussion Forum where it will attract more attention.

Thirdly, I am afraid that I have no experience of Crosslinking. That said, I guess that there will be several users along in a moment who can each share their own experience.

Every good wish with your procedure.

Andrew

Hey Alex,

First of all, If you don't already know the cross linking procedure is only to hopefully halt progression of K.C and any vision improvements are a bonus and not guaranteed, I'm roughly two months on and vision is actually worse then it was but slowly returning to the way it was.

Your awake through the procedure and can talk to the surgeon through it.... I'll assume your having the epi off method where they remove the first thin layer on the eye called the epithelium


Lie you down on the op table,
They cover the one eye that's not been operated on,
Apply a eye clamp, seriously I thought this bit was going to hurt but you can barely feel it, The eye clamp is actually fixed together with a spring so your able to blink and don't worry will not cause any damage.
Apply numbing drops and scrap the front layer of the eye (epi) which you can hardly feel and doesn't hurt just sort of feels abit funny.
Apply riboflavin drops which soaks into the cornea
Apply the UV light, which strengthens the cornea
Then apply a bandage contact lenses.

Anyways the procedure itself is pain free and the only discomfort you will feel is the healing process, mine never actually stung till the next day then went on for roughly 3 days, I would say it feels like you've been in a swimming pool for sometime without goggles and you have chlorine in the eye,

You may be light sensitive for a couple of days, I did find that even looking at a light bulb was unbearable so i wore sunglasses around the house and hibernated in the darkness for a week.

That's basically what they do if you want a more in brief explanation or any other questions please ask.


Regards

Hi Alex,

I've had cross-linking done in both eyes and here's a brief summary of my experience:

- Don't worry about your eyes being clamped open, you'll have anaesthetic drops put in your eyes so you won't feel a thing.
- The first 24 hours are painful but the pain gradually decreases after that (and should more or less be pain free after 3 days).
- My eyes stayed light-sensitive for the first week, which made it difficult to watch TV or use a computer. It was particularly worse at night, when the lights were turned on.
- The blurriness is worse for the first 10-14 days, but for me it actually took about 2-3 months before each eye went back to 'normal'. But after the first 2 weeks it wasn't too bad.

Hope this helps.

Thank-you so much for replying, you have made me feel a lot better about it.

thank-you
Alex

Hey I have had crosslinking done on both eyes how would I know if it has worked and also can I wear my old glasses I can see better with them please help operation was done exalt 1 month ago