Category: Keratoconus

Has Keratoconus forced you to give up your career? While Keratoconus is a progressive condition there are several treatments that are now available to help preserve and improve your vision.

In the past, Keratoconus was a diagnosis that often meant a painful corneal transplant and a long recovery period. Now there are treatments that provide patients diagnosed with Keratoconus options that can slow, reverse, and even stop the progression of the condition giving you back your vision and your career.

Below are some signs & symptoms:

• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Frequent prescription changes
• Frequent rubbing of the eyes
• Foreign body sensations
• Deceased ability to wear contacts comfortably
• Halos around lights
• Light sensitivity
• Decreased night vision

There are several treatments that can provide you relief right away depending on the severity of your condition.

Today’s Keratoconus Treatments Include:

Intacs:

Intacs® are tiny crescent shaped lens inserts that are placed in the layer of the cornea. Intacs® provide help reshape the cornea and decrease vision distortion. Once in place, Intacs® do not require maintenance. If for any reason you don’t want them in the future, they can be removed.

Typically the procedure takes about 7 minutes and has a recovery time of about 24-48 hours. Patients report the recovery is fairly easy with little to no pain. Most activities can be resumed right away. Intacs® can be combined with other procedures to improve the outcome for Keratoconus treatment, including the Holcomb C3-R ®, and CK.

The Holcomb C3-R ®:

The Holcomb C3-R ® is a revolutionary treatment with over 12 years of proven results to stop the progression of Keratoconus. Just ask Olympic Gold Medalist and Bobsledder Steven Holcomb. He was diagnosed legally blind and almost gave up his career as a driver for the US Men’s Olympic Bobsled team. He decided to have the C3-R ® procedure done. The Holcomb C3-R ® not only preserved his vision, but when combined with the ICL (insertable contact lens) allowed him to continue to compete and he won Olympic Gold in 2010 and Olympic Bronze in 2014.

The Holcomb C3-R ® uses a natural vitamin call Riboflavin which is activated with a UV light during an easy 30 minutes office based treatment. Once the solution is activated it strengthens the cornea fibers over the next 16 weeks helping to stabilize Keratoconus and stop progression. This treatment is non-invasive and recovery is less than 24 hours. In 99.3% of patients, the treatment only needs to be performed once.

Watch the story of Steven Holcomb here:

As you grow up, your eyesight may undergo changes. For example, you may notice that things begin to get blurry, or you have trouble seeing objects in the distance. For those with Keratoconus, a condition that occurs when the cornea in the eye begins to thin and becomes cone-shaped, distorted vision and sensitivity to light may arise. How can this be treated? Luckily, Keratoconus inserts can be used to treat patients with the condition, and a study in the October 2005 issue of Archives of Ophthalmology resulted in nearly half of participants achieving 20/40 uncorrected vision or better.

Keratoconus inserts, also known as Intacs, are thin plastic rings inserted into the mid layer of the corneas. The procedure to receive an insert for Keratoconus takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, and the inserts work by helping stabilize the eyes. Once surgery is complete, patients must use prescribed eye drops, to avoid infection, and schedule follow up visits with their doctor to monitor progress.

Discover your treatment options
Decreased night vision is a common symptom, without treatment is can be a great hindrance. While you should always have your eyes checked when there is change in your vision, sometimes patients may over look vision changes and chalk it up to the aging process. It is important to not overlook vision changes, especially if your vision is worsening at night.

While you are more susceptible to eye problems as you get older, age is may not be the reason for your vision changes. In fact, those who go untreated can have more severe loss of vision and treatment options may be limited because of a delay in treatment. Early detection of eye conditions can help prevent vision loss.

Below are other signs to report to your eye care professional:

• Frequent prescription changes
• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Increased sensitivity to Light
• Frequent headaches
• Eye Pain
• Straining/Squinting

There are in fact several conditions that can cause decreased night vision. However the most common cause is a progressive condition called Keratoconus. Keratoconus is a misshapen cornea which causes a distortion in the view of the patient. Over time the cornea bulges into a cone shape instead of a sphere due to the thinning and weakening of the cornea over time.

A Few signs and Symptoms of Keratoconus:
• Frequent prescription changes
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Eye pain
• Blurred/Double Vision
• Straining/Squinting
• Decreased night vision

Keratoconus can be a shocking diagnosis but with early detection and proper treatment you can have your vision preserved. There are several treatment options which have show very positive results in the treatment of Keratoconus including the Holcomb C3-R ®, INTACS, and CK to name a few.
Watch revolutionary Keratoconus night blindness treatment by Dr. Brian featured on The Doctors:

Baseball season is back in full swing and for those who suffer from Keratoconus this season maybe a struggle for some who have already been diagnosed and some who might not even know they are suffering.

In the past, the diagnosis of Keratoconus had been a difficult one for eye doctors to diagnose. However, in recent years with modern equipment and increased training, more doctors are able to diagnose the condition sooner. The sooner a patient is diagnosed the better the prognosis for Keratoconus treatment and improving vision.

Below you will find some signs & symptoms of Keratoconus:

• Frequent changes in prescriptions
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Frequent squinting
• Blurred/Double Vision
• Poor night vision
• Sensitivity to light
• Halos/glares around lights

Blurred vision can be a problem if you are playing baseball. Your pitch depends on your ability to aim at the plate. Blurred vision can distort your view of the plate and cause you to struggle seeing when aiming for your target. Keratoconus can hinder your depth perception causing you to throw the ball to short or too far over the base when pitching.

In addition, if you are up to bat, blurred vision can cause you to misjudge when to swing your bat.
Your sight is a great treasure and reporting any changes, no matter how minor, to your eye care professional will help you in finding available treatment options.

Watch Tommy Pham of the Cardinals baseball team discuss his experience with Keratoconus treatments:

Keratoconus is a progressive eye condition that changes the shape of your cornea. This change causes many difficulties in the patient’s everyday life. The patient’s quality of vision deteriorates as the condition gets worse over the years. Many patients suffer from poor night vision, blurred, or double vision, and may have other symptoms which can cause them to become unable to drive at night, play sports, or causing problems completing tasks at school and/or work.

Keratoconus treatments improve the problem from its source by reshaping the cornea and strengthening it. These treatments can improve your overall quality of vision and reduce the likelihood the condition will progress further.

Some Symptoms are:

• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Poor night vision
• Frequent eye rubbing
• Frequent prescription changes
• Glares over lights/halos

Many patients with Keratoconus have difficulty dealing with the symptoms. Treatments like the Holcomb C3-R®, INTACS, and CK can improve the condition greatly and give you a better quality of vision. In some cases the Holcomb C3-R® and INTACS can be done in combination and can slow, stop, and even sometimes reverse the visual presentation of Keratoconus by flattening the cones.

Holcomb C3-R® Crosslinking System: A non-invasive treatment that uses a solution which is created with a vitamin called Riboflavin. This procedure requires the use of UV lights at activate the solution over once it is applied. It takes about 30 minutes and strengthens the corneal fibers

INTACS: INTACS are tiny inserts that are placed in the cornea to help reshape it to a more normal shape and reduce distortion.

If you are looking for treatment options for Keratoconus you can read more about Holcomb C3-R® and INTACS to see for yourself how they can help with your symptoms and treat your disease.

Watch the video below to see ‘First Hand’ how these treatments can change your life:

Keratoconus is a progressive condition in which the sphere shape of the cornea becomes cone shape overtime. The change of shape in the cornea causes your vision to become distorted. Keratoconus didn’t have a lot of treatment options even just a decade ago. But with the increase of technology, several new treatment options for Keratoconus have become available. Two of these Keratoconus treatment options include: Holcomb C3-R ® and Intacs. These treatments offer incredible improvements in vision care for those suffering with Keratoconus.

Intacs provide an improvement to the shape of the cornea instantly changing the way the patient is seeing. But with the combination of the Holcomb C3-R ® procedure the corneal fibers are also strengthened which can slow or in many cases stop the progression of the Keratoconus. These treatments have been performed since 1999 and are providing excellent long-term results.

Meet Brianna:

Brianna was diagnosed with Keratoconus at the age of 10. Over the next 3 years her vision deteriorated causing her to lose her ability to participate in regular activities such as Volleyball, Horseback riding, and cheer-leading, which she loved so much.

She became afraid of losing her vision. She was afraid to ride her bike because she was worried about getting hit by a car. She was confused and didn’t understand why this loss in vision was happening to her. Three years after Brianna was diagnosed with Keratoconus she could only see a few feet in front of her and was quickly losing her ability to function normally. Worried she would become completely blind her grandmother looked into her treatment options for Keratoconus.

Quickly they arranged to have Brianna travel to Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills, CA. Within two days her vision was restored. Brianna is just one of the many stories for which these procedures have saved vision. These procedures have had a surprising impact on the treatment of Keratoconus.

Intacs & the Holcomb C3-R ® procedures are an impressive treatment for those suffering from Keratoconus.

You can watch Brianna’s story here:

The Holcomb C3-R ® is a procedure that uses a solution made of natural vitamins placed directly on the cornea to improve and strengthen the fibers of the cornea. This treatment helps to stabilize the cornea and slow/halt the progressive nature of this vision deteriorating condition. Full results of the treatment takes between 4 -16 weeks.

In combination with other treatments the Holcomb C3-R ® has the ability to dramatically improve a patient’s vision and improve their lives. In the past, many had to turn to corneal transplants as a treatment for Keratoconus. That procedure was risky, invasive, painful and had a long recovery time.

Now with improvements in technology, treatment options have become non-invasive or at the most minimally invasive. These advanced Keratoconus procedures have shorter than ever recovery time, usually a period of hours or days. Some combinations of treatments can be done the same day with no increases in recovery time.

The Procedure:

During the Holcomb C3-R ® procedure your eyes are numbed with eye drops and a proprietary solution developed by Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler in 2003 is applied to the cornea. Then the patient sits under a carefully calibrated UV light for 30 minutes, this activates the solution. The propriety eye drop solution is made with a natural vitamin called Riboflavin along with other ingredients which encourage the collagen within the cornea to build new crosslinks. These crosslinks is what strengthens the cornea. In some cases, this procedure has the added benefit of providing slight flatting of the cornea shape.

The procedure take about 30 minutes and is performed.

INTACS:

Intacs is often used in combination with the Holcomb C3-R ® to treat all stages of Keratoconus. While the Holcomb C3-R ® slightly changes the shape of the cornea, Intacs are used to help mold the cornea shape more. It uses tiny crescent shape lens inserts to help improve the cornea of the patient. When used in combination with the Holcomb C3-R ® it can improve the patient’s vision.

The Intacs procedure takes around 10 minutes and most patients report that the procedure was easier than a trip to the dentist. Vision of the patient improves almost instantly. Giving them the ability to have a better quality of vision with contacts or glasses.

Symptoms of Keratoconus:

It generally takes a while to be diagnosed with Keratoconus but if you have a family history of this condition or any of the below symptoms you should notify your eye care professional for further testing.

 Frequent changes in prescription
 Frequent eye rubbing
 Double vision
 Eye pain
 Halos or glares around the lights
 Light sensitivity

Dr. Brian discusses the testing used to diagnosed Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a progressive condition that causes the patient to lose their vision slowly over time. Keratoconus causes the sphere shaped cornea to turn cone shaped. This causes the images that a patient sees to become distorted and glasses or contacts often will not help improve vision over time.

In the past many patients have had to wait for their vision to be nearly lost and then a cornea transplant was recommended to replace the damaged one. Until 1999, this was the main treatment for Keratoconus, which was invasive and had a long recovery time. Today Keratoconus treatments are available to slow, stop, and in some cases reverse the damage from Keratoconus.

Today’s Modern Keratoconus Treatments:

Over the past two decade many ophthalmologists have worked hard to find new ways to treat Keratoconus. Several treatments have excellent results in treating this condition. A few are listed below.

The Holcomb C3-R ®:

The Holcomb C3-R ® or Corneal Collagen Crosslinking with Riboflavin is a non-invasive treatment designed to strengthen the corneal fibers to help restore the shop of their cornea. Dr. Brian S. Boxer Wachler developed this treatment in 2003 and has revolutionized Keratoconus management.

The Holcomb C3-R ® is performed in the comfort of Dr. Brian’s office and is comfortable to undergo with recovery in as little as a few hours. Additionally the Holcomb C3-R ® can be performed in combination with other advanced treatments to further enhance and improve vision, procedures such as Intacs.

Intacs:

Intacs are tiny crescent shaped lens inserts that are placed in the layers of the cornea lens to reshape the cornea. It provides the patient with almost instant improved quality of vision and when performed with the Holcomb C3-R ® can benefit patients with moderate to severe Keratoconus.

Intacs can be done within 10 minutes and performed the same day as the Holcomb C3-R ® to reduce the need for repeat procedures dates and extended recovery times.

CK- Conductive Keratoplasty:

CK also known as Conductive Keatoplasty can be combined with both Intacs and the Holcomb C3-R ® to help reshape the cornea. Often used to reduce high levels of astigmatism, it can be effective in the treatment of Keratoconus for further enhancement of vision.

CK uses a radiofrequency probe, which gently helps reshape the cornea. This procedure can also be performed in combination with other treatments in the office. CK has little recovery time and little to no pain.

Advancements in Keratoconus treatments give patient’s peace of mind and relief to know there is another option instead of the dreaded and painful cornea transplant.

Watch Kristen discuss her happiness with Holcomb C3-R ®, Intacs, and CK – 3 years after treatment

Vision care should be a priority to your family especially if you have a family history of eye problems or conditions like elevated blood pressure, or Diabetes. Several conditions affect the eyes and can lead to severe vision loss or eye care issues.

Be sure to find an eye care professional that you are comfortable speaking with, and that communicates well with you and your family. This will help your family understand your eye care conditions and find the right treatments for your family.

Below are a couple tips to help you:

Discovering Vision Problems in Your Children:

There are several signs of vision problems in children. Knowing what they are and how to spot them is important. If they are having difficulty seeing it will affect every part of their life including social, and academic as well.

Below are some common signs it is time to see the eye doctor:

 Eye Strain – (in children straining to see the television or board at school)
 Blurred Vision
 Double Vision
 Poor night vision
 Frequent Eye rubbing
 Eye Pain

Family History of Eye Conditions:

If you have a family a family history of eye conditions such as Cataracts, Glaucoma, Keratoconus, or even Diabetes type 1 or 2 you should go to the eye doctor on a regular basis. Annual eye exams are an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Early detection of eye conditions opens up more options when it comes to treatments.

For more information on symptoms of common eye conditions, or treatment option ask your eye care professionals or visit www.BoxerWachler.com

Dr. Brian’s shares his tip on why eye rubbing can be dangerous to your eye health:

Keratoconus treatments have been around for decades and over the years many patients have experienced different treatment options for managing this condition. Keratoconus is a progressive condition that is caused by an abnormal shaped cornea. Over time the vision becomes more distorted and Keratoconus left untreated can result in a severe loss of vision.

Within the last decade there have been several new treatments available for those who suffer from this progressive condition. At one time the primary treatment was a cornea transplant. This type of treatment often had a long and painful recovery time. Now there are many treatment options that involve little to no pain, and have recovery times of days to weeks instead of months.

Advancements in Keratoconus Treatment:

There are several methods of treatment options to improve the quality of life and vision for those with Keratoconus with the advancements in technology. Below you will find various treatment options, and how they help those with Keratoconus. Currently less than 5% of all patients with Keratoconus ever need a corneal transplant.

Contact & Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses

The Use of Contact lenses for Keratoconus Treatment:

If the patient is diagnosed at an early stage contact lenses or glasses can help correct their vision and is often used as a first treatment. However, contacts do not stop the progressive nature of this condition and patient frequent exams multiple times a year to manage changes in prescriptions.

As Keratoconus progresses the contact lens needs to be adjusted to improve the clarity of the condition. The patient then often needs to get special lenses called RGP Lenses or Rigid Gas-Permeable Lens, which can often become uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. Over time patients begin to notice that their vision even with contacts is no longer clear.

The Holcomb C3-R ®:

Other treatments for patients with Keratoconus include the Holcomb C3-R ® (Corneal Collagen Cross linking with Riboflavin). The procedure is revolution, in that it stops the progression of Keratoconus. When patients seek this early, this will often allow patients to maintain good vision and comfort in contact lenses and avoid additional procedures.

This procedure simply uses natural vitamin coupled with Ultra violet light to active the vitamin. Over a period of 4-16 weeks additional fibers are created in the cornea, which stabilizes the cornea and in some cases reverse some damage due to the Keratoconus.

There are many other treatments to improve the clarity or overall vision of patients suffering with Keratoconus. Other procedures include Intacs and CK procedures. When these procedures are combined with Holcomb C3-R® vision is further enhanced and improved.

Looking into these options before making a decision is best. Asking questions of your eye care professional before making a decision is even better.

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus Treatments, and other procedures.

Watch one man’s journey from vision loss to traveling to the Olympics in Russia after his Keratoconus Treatments

For more information regarding Keratoconus Treatments visit www.KeratoconusInserts.com/fix