Thank you to Felipe Arroyave of X-Cel Contacts for providing this eye health article explaining Keratconus and treating it with specially designed soft contact lenses:
WHAT IS KERATCONUS AND HOW TO TREAT IT WITH SOFT CONTACT LENSES?
Keratoconus or cone, is a corneal disorder of the human eye that significantly affects vision. It is a condition in which the normal round form of the cornea distorts and develops a protuberance and prominence in a cone shape. The cornea is the principal lens of the eye. Our vision decreases significantly when this lens is distorted. The first symptom at its earliest stage is blurred vision. The Eye specialist can observe a correction of myopia and astigmatism with air correction (meaning glasses) but when the keratoconus progresses it is necessary to make frequent changes on the patients Rx and glasses prescription.
With the progression of keratoconus to a more advanced stage, the only treatments available are contact lenses or corneal transplants. Usually only 10% of patients will require a corneal transplant.
Picture courtesy of Dr. Ariolfo Vasquez
In the first picture we observe how keratoconus distorts the cornea. Usually the most used treatment by specialists around the world is rigid gas permeable contact lenses; usually referred to as (GP’s). Eye specialists around the world choose this treatment due to its effectiveness and low cost. This treatment, although effective, is not the ideal solution for some patients. Not all patients can tolerate GP lenses. The majority of them reject this type of contact due to discomfort, dryness and the rigidity of the material in which these contacts are made.
Some patients are not able to achieve all-day wear with rigid gas perms, and the discomfort experienced by them has created a need for both doctors and contact lens manufacturers alike to create and fit soft contact lenses that can treat this visual problem. Majority of doctors believe it is impossible to correct the refractive error associated with keratoconus, but with the invention of new manufacturing software and ultra precision lathes it has been made possible to correct and treat it with specialty soft contact lenses.
X-Cel Contacts has developed soft contact lenses that can treat keratoconus. This new treatment offers patients the opportunity to achieve desired visual acuity with great comfort. The first option to treat this corneal disorder is with soft contacts known as the Flexlens® Tricurve Keratoconus. The Tricurve Keratoconus lens is indicated for daily wear use and the correction of refractive ametropia and specialized use such as atypical ametropia. This lens is used to treat irregular astigmatism created by keratoconus, trauma, post/penetrating keratoplasty and pellucid marginal degeneration. The success of this design is based on the 3 posterior peripheral curves and its center thickness that ranges from .40mm to .65mm which is often thicker than the keratoconus cornea itself.
Another great option to treat keratoconus is our Flexlens Piggyback lens. Flexlens Piggyback is ideal for patients who require the optics of a rigid lens but have difficulty with comfort and wear. It is indicated where centration is difficult to achieve due to an irregular corneal surface. Patients who would benefit from this design could have: beginning to advance keratoconus, pellucid marginal denegation, Terrien’s marginal degeneration, penetrating keratoplasty, refractive corneal surgery, corneal trauma, and corneal surface disease.
This lens incorporates a cut out depression in the center of the lens. The depression allows practitioners to fit a gas permeable lens right where it’s needed. This technique provides excellent centration and the optics of a gas permeable lens with the comfort of a soft lens.
Keratoconus patients can benefit from these two designs. Our experienced has indicated that a comfortable patient wearing soft keratoconus lenses will always be a loyal patient to your practice. How much is patient retention and loyalty to you?
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