Common Corneal Issues
Various corneal problems like infectious keratitis (infections of the cornea), Autoimmune related peripheral ulcerative keratitis and degenerative conditions of the cornea are routinely managed here.




Purulent Keratitis (Corneal Ulcer)
There is a loss in the continuity of the corneal epithelium associated with tissue infiltration and necrosis.
Causes: It is always exogeneous infection commonly due to pyogenic organisms which invade the cornea from outside such as staphylococcos, pneumococcus, pseudomonas, Ecoli etc.
1. Gram positive cocci
2. Gram negative cocci
3. Gram positive bacilli
4. Gram negative bacilli
5. Myobacteria

Stages of Corneal Ulcer:
1. Progressive stage
2. Regressive stage
3. Healing stage

Inflammations of the Cornea
Inflammation of the cornea(keratosis) is characterized by corneal edema, cellular infiltration and associated conjuctival reaction
1. Exogenous infections
2. From the ocular tissue
3. Endogenous infection

Degeneration of Cornea
1. Anterior dystrophies
2. Stromal dystrophies
3. Posterior dystrophies

Ectatic Conditions of Cornea
1. Inflammation
(i) Ectatic cicatrix
(ii) Anterior staphyloma
2. Congenital
(i) Keratoconus
(ii) Keratoglobus
(iii) Megalocornea

Keratoglobus
It is a rare non inflammatory corneal thinning disorder characterized by generalized thinning and globular protrusion of the cornea.
Symptoms: Decreased visual acuity, suboptimal visual acuity, poor fit of contact lens, episodes of eye pain

Keratoconus
It is often due congenital weakness of the central part of the cornea. It may occur in association with other ocular anomalies like blue sclera, ectopia lentis, retinitis pigmentosa etc.
Keratoconus can classified by doing keratometry as follows:
1. Mild (< 48D)
2. Moderate (48-54D)
3. Severe (>54D)

Symptoms: There is impaired vision due to progressive myopia. This cannot be corrected by ordinary glasses due to parabolic nature of the corneal curvature.

RKEC Advantage
Corneal collagen cross-linking is a technique which uses UV light and a photosensitizer to strengthen chemical bonds in the cornea. The goal of the treatment is to halt progressive and irregular changes in corneal shape known as ectasia, most commonly seen in a condition called keratoconus. and often lead to high levels of myopia and astigmatism. At RK eye Centre we have the expertise to perform this procedure.