About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with kerataconus and let me tell you it's one bitch of a disease. When I first went to the doctor and discovered that I had this, they told me my first option would be to try glasses. Well I had those glasses made and they really improved my vision. Then the doctor said that we can improve your vision much more if we try RGP contact lenses aka hard pieces of plastic that you keep in your eye for 12 hours a day so you can see like everyone else. I upgraded to those and despite the pain, dry eyes, almost 2 weeks of adjustment they actual made my vison really sharp. I couldn't believe how bad my eyes were! Well, a year passed and that vision began to deteriorate. The docotr said I wouldh ave to be refitted. She tried and tried but the cone on my cornea would not allow her to fit my left eye probably. I accepted my fate and decided to just wear glasses. in the 8 years after that I went to a few doctors tried to get my eyeglass prescription updated and had many recommend RGP contacts to which I declined. The glasses began to feel like just that, glass. The lenses were no longer improving my vision they were just there. I decided I needed to try contacts again. So about a year ago I jumped back into the eye correcting game that I love so much. I found a doctor who tried to fit me with contacts a again. Atlhough it was still unsuccessful. She recommended that I get Intacs surgery. I agreed pretty quickly because I was eager to try something new. If you're not sure what it is, well you can look it up on google but it's these 2 ring segments that they put under your conea in order to reshape it and stretch out the cone, making it a little flatter and thus easier to fit a contact on top of it. rather that have it teeter-tottering and slipping all over my eye. Well the surgery only took about 1 hour. It was very quick and painless. I went to Kremer Laser Center in King of Prussia and Dr. Aronsky performed the procedure.
To perform the procedure they start out by giving you a sedative(orally). You wait a little for it to kick in, whic hI never felt anything. They could've given me a multivitamin for all I know. Then they take you to the first room where they use a laser to cut the holes in your cornea in which they will insert the ring segments. Then they take you over to the next room where the doctor physically inserts the ring segments. They obviously numb your eue the entire time. So there is no pain and there was also no pain after the procedure. They put a soft contact over the eye after surgery because it may be a little rough where the laser had cut. They take that of during hte subsequent visits when they do a post-op check on your eyes.
After the surgery I hadn't really noticed a change in my vision without contacts. on However, the surgery allowed to be fitted for contacts which really did improve my vision. Fast forward to a year and half later and I don't wear any eyewear. They eventually gave me 1 rgp contact for each eye and a soft contact to wear under the rgp in only one eey. It was a big process to put those in and take them out each morning and they were still painful to wear. So I stopped. I also still have very bad halos at night whether I wear anything or not. So I feel as if none of this is really helping me. However, I would recommend the surgery. It is quick and easy and really helps if you have kerataconus and are trying to get fitted for some contact lenses. Hopefully, your eyes aren't as bad as mine.
Labels: intacs, kerataconus, kremer, surgery
