Keratoconus Patient with Ferra Rings now 20/20 in Each Eye

This young man recently visited our office from Santiago, Chile for his yearly eye and visual examination. When he was 14 years old, he was diagnosed with keratoconus. Eyeglasses and conventional contact lenses were unable to provide him with functional vision. 7 years ago he underwent Collagen Cross-linking in both eyes in an attempt to stabilize his corneas. In addition, Ferrara rings (similar to Intacs) were surgically implanted into the center of his left cornea which reduced to amount of corneal distortion. 6 years ago we fit this patient with GVR Scleral lenses. With these lenses this young man was able to see clearly (20/20 in each eye) and comfortably for the first time in many years. In the photo below you can see the Ferrara rings which were designed to decrease the intensity of his keratoconus. Over the past 6 years, this young man was seen by us on 4 separate occasions for eye, vision and scleral lens examinations. Over these years, his corneas have remained clear and stable and his keratoconus has not progressed. In addition he has been able to maintain 20/20 vision during this time period. I expect this patient to be able to wear his GVR Scleral lenses well into the distant future and I feel confident to write that he will never need to undergo corneal transplant surgery.