Corneal transplant and keratoconus

My son is 32 years old and has had his corneas transplanted on both eyes due to keratoconus.  At first, his vision was greatly improved but it has progressively deteriorated as time goes on.  He claims his vision is back to the way it was before the surgery.  what is the reason for this and is there a new treatment to deal with this kind of patients?  This brings a lot of anxiety and frustration because he also suffers from allergies and when the allergies flare up, his GP lenses are hard to tolerate.  Please help!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

There are many reasons why his vision may have deteriorated: the graph may be failing, there may be a great deal of irregular/regular astigmatism due to the graph size, other problems may have developed like cataracts or macular problems.

The newest treatment for K conus is CCC corneal collagen crosslinking but it is not helpful after corneal transplant.

My suggestion is to discuss with his surgeon just exactly what is the problem. If still unsure then get a second opinion from another corneal Eye MD ophthalmologist.

Find one near him at www.aao.org

JCH MD

[battistin]

Our son was diagnosed with keratoconus and fortunately we explored alternatives and have C3R (cornea collagen crosslinking with riboflavin) with Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler in Los Angeles.  We flew from Tennesse to have the procedure.  While we were in the office, I spoke with many of the other patients who had flown in to see Dr. Boxer Wachler.  Many of them had a cornea transplant in one eye and were there to prevent having a transplant in the other.  While there they learned Dr. Brian could perform a PRK (surface laser treatment) to help reduce the some if the astigmatism.  You might contact there office to find out if there is an option for your son.  I know he had transplants in both eyes, but maybe they can help.  I am passionate about telling people there are options for treatments for keratoconus without having a transplant.  Your story is one I heard from many and did not want a transplant for our son.  That is when I researched and found Dr. Boxer Wachler. Interesting that our doctor never gave this as an option.  Wish you all the best

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

In the above postings it should  be "graft" not "graph"   sorry
JCH MD