Mastering Corneal Collagen Cross-linking Techniques
by Ashok Garg /
2008 / English / PDF
7.8 MB Download
Corneal Collagen Cross-linking with Riboflavin and UV-A (C3-R) treatment is certainly a new and promising development in refractive surgery in recent times. The weakened cornea in form of Keratoconus or Post-Lasik/PRK Corneal Ectasia (Keratoectasia) is one of the most challenging task for Ophthalmologists. Reduced corneal mechanical stability in Keratoconus and Corneal Ectasia can be treated by Photo-oxidative cross-linking of the Corneal Collagen. To achieve high absorption of irradiation energy in the cornea, Riboflavin at a concentration of 0.1% and UV-A light at a wavelength of 370 nm corresponding to the relative maximum of absorption of Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is used. Therapeutic C3-R cross-linking procedure causes decrease in corneal curvature of about 2D which leads not only to stabilization but also to an increase in visual acuity and more compact and stronger corneas.
