Abstract
Purpose :
To report visual and topographic improvements in 45 keratoconic eyes treated with epithelium–off combined riboflavin ultraviolet collagen cross-linking.
Methods :
A retrospective review was performed on 35 patients (total of 45 eyes) who underwent epithelium-off corneal crosslinking procedure at Georgetown University Hospital between 2017 and 2018. Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and topographic keratometry were measured during the pre-operative clinic visit and at the three-month post-operative clinic visit.
Results :
At post-operative month three, the mean spherical equivalent refractive error (SEQ) improved by +0.56 diopters. Of the 45 eyes, 40 eyes were refracted and/or refitted with rigid gas permeable contact lenses. 70% of eyes showed an average improvement of 2.4 Snellen lines of CDVA, 20% of eyes showed no change in Snellen acuity, and 10% of eyes showed a decline of vision by one Snellen acuity line at three months. Mean simulated keratometry reading improved by 0.15 diopters and mean K max improved by 0.21 diopters. No post-operative complications were noted. Data collection for this study is still on going.
Conclusions :
Previous studies have shown improvement in topographic and visual outcomes as early as one year following corneal cross-linking. In this study, we demonstrate evidence of visual acuity and topographic improvement as soon as three months in keratoconic eyes treated with epithelium-off corneal cross-linking.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.