Riboflavin-UVA corneal collagen crosslinking as an evolving surgical procedure for progressive ophthalmic tissue diseases.

摘要

Progressive corneal tissue diseases such as keratoconusand pellucid marginal degeneartion cause a noninflammatory cone-like ectasia in the cornea. These diseases usually appear bilaterally and progress over time. The frequency of keratoconus in the general population is approximately 1 in 2000. The condition starts at puberty, progressing in approximately 20% to an extent that penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) becomes necessary. Along with PKP, hard contact lenses are the major treatment modality for keratoconus. Surgical treatments that have been considered include epikeratoplasty,photorefractive keratectomy, and intracornealrings. However, all these techniques correct only the refractive errors of keratoconus; they do not treat the underlying cause of the corneal ectasia and therefore cannot stop its progression.