Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the ocular rigidity and K reading changes which may occur between globes before and after treatment of Intacs implantation, corneal collagen cross linking, and the combined treatment of Intacs and corneal collagen cross linking.
Methods: :
We obtained 15 research-grade whole globes from the San Diego Eye Bank. We used 5 globes for Intacs implantation, size 0.25mm (Group I), 5 globes for corneal collagen cross-linking (Group II), and 5 globes for combined treatment of Intacs implantation and corneal collagen cross-linking (Group III). In corneal cross linking procedure, riboflavin 0.1% solution was applied every 2 minutes for 30 minutes and every 5 minutes during irradiation for 30 total minutes. We measured ocular rigidity using Friedenwald nomogram and K value readings using Pentacam before and after the procedure.
Results: :
The mean ocular rigidity change was 0.0102±0.00148 (Mean±SD) in Group I, 0.086±0.00114 in Group II, and 0.0124±0.00134 in Group III, respectively. From our study we found that ocular rigidity was increased in each group and there was a significant increase in Group III, the combined treatment group, compared to Group II (P=0.02). The mean K was decreased after treatment in each group but there were no significant differences between each group.
Conclusions: :
The outcome of the combination treatment was more effective in ocular rigidity change than corneal collagen cross-linking only treatment (P=0.02). Although further studies are needed, combined treatment may be an effective option for keratoconus.
Keywords: cornea: clinical science • refractive surgery