Keratoconus is a degenerative disease of the cornea that causes it to gradually thin and bulge into a cone-like shape. As the disease progresses, the cone become more pronounced, causing vision to become blurred and distorted. Because of the cornea’s irregular shape, patients with keratoconus are usually highly Myopic and have a high degree of astigmatism that is not correctable with glasses.
Keratoconus is sometimes an inherited problem that usually occurs in both eyes.
Detection and Diagnosis
Keratoconus is usually diagnosed when patients reach their 20’s.For some, it may advance over several decades, for others, the progression may reach a certain point and stop.
Keratoconus is not usually visible to the naked eye until the later stages of the disease. In severe cases, the cone shape is visible to an observer when the patient looks down while the upper lid is lifted. When looking down, the lower lid is no longer shaped like an arc, but bows outward around the pointed cornea. This is called Munson’s sign.
Special corneal testing called topography provides the doctor with detail about the cornea’s shape and is used to detect and monitor the progression of the disease. A pachymeter may also be used to measure the thickness of the cornea.
The Rose K is a unique keratoconus lens design with complex computer-generated peripheral curves based on data collected by Dr Paul Rose of Hamilton, New Zealand. The system incorporates a triple peripheral curve system.