Good Morning

My baby girl had an eye procedure to strengthen her corneas yesterday &I took this picture of one of the steps the Dr did coz I thought ‘twas so cool!!

Procedure: Riboflavin Corneal Cross-linking for Keratoconus

#EduThread below on the condition & treatment.

What is this cross-linking?

It is a technique that increases collagen fibers bonds to strengthen the cornea.

Collagen is the matrix of the body cells. And when it gets weak or depleted for whatever reason (mostly due to ageing process) the cells lose structure/ shape.

With Keratoconus, the clear dome-shaped tissue that covers the eye (cornea) thins & bulges outward into a cone shape. This affects how the light shines into the eye, affecting vision...

Due to the bulging, light is “bent” in abnormal shapes when it goes through the cornea before it hits the lens inside the eye.. then the retina can’t read images/ letters properly

Cause is unknown. There’s a genetic element. My kids got it frm their dad. He got it from his dad..

Symptoms 1st start during puberty /late teens. So if a child complains of sight issues please attend to them.

Symptoms incl:
-blurred vision
-distorted vision
-astigmatism
-double vision
-inability to see in dim light
-nearsightedness
-sensitivity to light & glare
-vision loss

If you or your child has a combination of the symptoms above & are generally progressing for worse rapidly or with time.. it’s important to get checked by a specialist eye surgeon (Ophthalmologist) sooner than later.

Esp If you’ve been to the optometrist & there’s no improvement

My daughter’s eyes went from stable and coping.. and it was “okay” to wait and observe.. to “need intervention” in less than 6 months.

So hers progressed rapidly probably due to the puberty effect. She’s now 14yo.

So please don’t take change in symptoms likely.

If the Crosslinking is done early - the earliest the better; so if child has progressive symptoms in their teens do it then - It will most likely prevent the need for corneal transplant later in adulthood. And reduces chances of losing eyesight due to severe damage of the cornea.

Procedure is approx 1hr long, done in Drs rooms, under local anaesthetic drops (so no pain felt) &there’s +/- 1wk downtime where the eye/s will be sensitive &blurry.

Day one was a bit roughy for us with post op pain.. But we managed.

She says she’s much better this morning.

Our family Opthalmologist &the Dr I refer most of my patients to is

Dr Tebogo Maleka
Safe Sight Institute.. In Morningside (Sandton) & Waverely
011) 3465025

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