Posters

Corneal collagen cross-linking as an alternative to bandage contact lens for pain relief in bullous keratopathy: a case report

Poster Details

First Author: A.Herceg SLOVENIA

Co Author(s):    V. Pfeifer   M. Stabuc Silih                 

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To report a case of alleviation of pain after cross-linking in patient with bullous keratopathy and discuss the role of cross-linking in treatment of such patients.

Setting:

57 years old male patient with bullous keratopathy presented to our unit asking for an alternative solution to bandage contact lens since he refused to handle the lens by himself and therefore had to visit his ophthalmologist regularly which he found impractical.

Methods:

We performed corneal collagen cross-linking on his right eye in December 2014 following standard corneal collagen cross-linking therapy, UVA of irradiance 3 W/cm2 was applied to de-epithelialized surface of riboflavin soaked cornea for 30 minutes. After the procedure we regularly followed the patient in our unit performing anterior segment OCT and photo documentation at every visit.

Results:

Following the procedure patient reported alleviation of pain and tearing in the operated eye. After one month we noticed decrease of overall corneal haze, slight decrease of edema and mainly marked decrease and finally disappearance of bullous changes. BCVA remained hand movement. Patient is currently still being followed at our unit and reports marked increase in quality of life.

Conclusions:

We believe cross-linking is promising as an adjunctive treatment for symptomatic patients with bullous keratopathy especially those who are awaiting or are not suitable candidates for keratoplasty. In our experience it significantly increased patient's reported quality of life, however as we are still following the patient duration of the beneficial effect remains to be determined.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE