Month: September 2014

Before the 1990’s there was little available in regard to treatment options for Keratoconus. Many patients had to deal with the debilitating effects of Keratoconus until they needed a Corneal Transplant. Now there are several new treatments that are improving the overall effects of Keratoconus. INTACS have been available to patients for the treatment of Keratoconus since 1999. This treatment can also assist patients with other eye conditions such as Myopia.

Below are benefits of INTACS for Keratoconus:

Simple, out-patient procedure.
Less invasive then a corneal transplant
Provides you with Improved Quality of Vision
Most Commonly takes less than 15 minutes
Removable if technology changes, but designed to remain in the eye for a lifetime

For most people, the use of INTACS for Keratoconus is a great treatment for correcting their quality of vision and comfort in glasses and contacts. The INTACS are not noticeable within the eye and do not require maintenance once in place. If this is something you might be interested, in speak with your eye care professional for more information.

Procedure & Recovery:

15-30 min. total operative time (1 or 2 eyes)
Little to no recovery time
Little to no pain
Almost immediate improvement
Can be combined with other eye care procedures

There are several advantages including quicker and little to no pain with recovery. INTACS can take the place of your glasses or contact lenses, however most commonly assists in the comfort of these types of correction. They help to reshape the eye’s cornea to help improve your overall quality of vision.

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus Treatments, as well as other vision correction procedures.

Watch how a 12 year old boy had his vision restored and saved by INTACS. He was saved from having to undergo the invasive cornea transplant:

For those who have had family members or close friends that were diagnosed with Keratoconus, treatment options probably didn’t sound very promising at that time. With new advancements in the treatment of Keratoconus, success is a common place. In fact over 90% of all patients with Keratoconus are now receiving successful treatments for their Keratoconus, and may have improved overall vision, WITHOUT the need to undergo a painful corneal transplant!

Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease that changes the shape of your cornea from circular to cone shaped over time. These distortions cause your vision to decrease and lower the quality of your vision, as well as your ability to complete your daily life activities. In past years there were only a few treatments available. A diagnosis of Keratoconus meant that you would eventually require a corneal transplant. Now only 5% of patients with Keratoconus eventually need a corneal transplant, and these cases are often due to additional circumstances beyond the Keratoconus diagnosis.

Below are a couple of the New Treatments for Keratoconus:

Holcomb C3-R® Crosslinking System

This treatment was developed over a decade ago and has made remarkable strides in successful Keratoconus treatment. This is a totally non-invasive treatment that only takes about 30 minutes to perform. It strengthens the cornea, reducing visual distortions, fluctuations, and can even occasionally improve overall vision.

INTACS

INTACS is another great treatment for those with Keratoconus that uses tiny segments which are placed in the cornea and reduce the steepness to create a more normal shape. This treatment requires little maintenance and the segments are intended to be left in the eye for a lifetime. The INTACS can be done in combination with the Holcomb C3-R ® to provide better results and is great for those with Keratoconus.

These amazing new treatments have restored hope in the lives of thousands of patients over the past decade. Knowing that there are several new treatment options out there to help you regain your vision should add new hope to your treatment’s success.

Listen to Tom’s story of avoiding a cornea transplant. Tom says “run, don’t walk to see Dr. Brian”

Those battling eyesight issues, especially people with kerataconus, know how aggravating it can be to go back and forth from one doctors appointment to another. Prescription contacts, glasses or eye surgery without results can make it seem like relief is too far away. However, Insertable Contact Lenses (ICL) can help improve your vision without the hassle of traditional lenses.

ICL treatment is a new breakthrough in the field of enhanced vision care and consists of lenses that are inserted into your eye through a small opening. The lens, which is made out of copolymer and collagen, then unfolds in your eye and is positioned behind the iris and in front of your natural lens.
The entire process is completed as an outpatient procedure in about 10 to 15 minutes. Benefits to inserting an ICL for keratoconus include:

• Same day improvement in vision
• Should vision change in the future, the lens can be exchanged
• Once in place, you cannot feel the ICL
• Material won’t degrade
• Ideal for those that suffer from dry eyes

The collamer material that makes up the ICL is highly biocompatible, allowing the lens to rest in position in order to correct vision. Additionally, the ICL contains an ultraviolet filter that protects your eye. Once the procedure is complete, the ICL will remain in your eye without needing to be maintained aside from an annual visit to your eye doctor to check for changes in your vision. Talking to your eye doctor during your next visit will allow you to learn about ICL treatment so you can see how it can improve your vision and correct keratoconus.

For those who are familiar with Keratoconus, Corneal Transplants maybe a familiar treatment option. But with today’s advanced technology, there are several treatments yielding amazing results when it comes to the treatment of Keratoconus. For generations past, the only treatment of Keratoconus was a corneal transplant. But the success of alternative treatments has made corneal transplants an option in less than 5% of patients with Keratoconus in fact they are almost obsolete.

Other treatments such as the Holcomb C3-R®, INTACS®, Hybrid Lenses, and even PRK have yielded excellent results. These treatments have aided in slowing, reversing, and in some cases stopping the progression of Keratoconus. For many, visual freedom and overall improved quality of vision is within reach.

Some of you may be wondering what Keratoconus is and what are the signs. For those of you who are new to this condition or even have family members who are newly diagnosed with Keratoconus, it is a progressive eye condition which causes the cornea to extend into a cone-shape causing distortions in the patients vision over time.

The lens slowly bulges outward causing blurred or double vision, decreased night vision, difficulty reading, and several other symptoms. The condition can be hereditary, caused by frequent rubbing, or injury to the eye. Over time the patient can have a severe decrease in vision, causing problems with daily activities, driving, or night vision.

Treatments:

Holcomb C3-R® Corneal Crosslinking System

Also known as Corneal Collagen Crosslinking with Riboflavin, Holcomb C3-R® is a treatment that strengthens the corneal fibers over time, fixing the damage or bulge to the cornea. This can improve the vision slightly over 4-16 weeks, but most importantly it will stop the disease from progressing. The treatment is non-invasive and uses a natural vitamin called Riboflavin along with a UV light to activate it. The treatment takes 30 minutes and continues to work to improve your sight for weeks after it’s complete.

INTACS®:

INTACS® are tiny segments that are placed in your cornea to provide support and add shape to your cornea. INTACS® can be added in combination with the Holcomb C3-R® and take less than an hour for both eyes to be done. There is less recovery time and less pain involved with the procedure than a corneal transplant. The procedure for INTACS® is minimally invasive and requires very little recovery. INTACS® also can be removed relatively easily if technology changes or you need them removed for some reason in the future.

13yr old Brianna had her Keratoconus treated with these advanced treatments, watch her story here: http://youtu.be/KZFC8NOp_hI