The cornea is the transparent dome-shaped front portion of the eye that permits light to enter the eye and focus on the retina. The cornea must remain transparent to refract light properly, and the presence of even the tiniest blood vessels can interfere with this process. To see well it is necessary that all layers of the cornea must be free of any cloudy or opaque areas. As cornea does not contain any blood vessels to nourish or protect it against infection, the chances of it getting damaged or cloudy are more which may result in reduced vision or blindness. Fortunately the scientific advancements in health sector have gifted humans with various procedures of treating all kinds of corneal disorders like Corneal Clouding, Keratoconus and Corneal Edema with much ease and assured treatment. Cornea transplantation, cataract surgery, C3R treatment, intracorneal rings treatment are some of the most common cornea disorder treatments undertaken to correct various cornea problems.

Cornea Transplantation:
Corneal Clouding is a disorder of cornea that generally happens due to injury to cornea, inherited disorders or complications due to surgery. This clouding of cornea may result in either partial or total loss of vision. In order to restore the full vision, the replacement of clouded cornea is necessary which can be done through transplant surgeries. A surgical procedure in which a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue or the graft is known as Cornea transplantation or Keratoplasty. The corneal tissue used in transplant is usually donated after the death of a person who had no corneal problems or any other factors that would later affect the visibility of the patient who undergoes cornea transplant. This procedure of corneal transplant surgery is often performed as an outpatient surgery by ophthalmologists who specialize in eye treatments. In this cornea transplant the surgeon removes an appropriate circular disc of the patient’s cornea and replaces it with a disc of donor cornea which is approximately of similar size and then stitches it into the place.

Depending on the damage suffered by cornea it can be replaced either entirely or partially. If the cornea is replaced entirely then this surgical procedure is referred as Penetrating Keratoplasty or else it is termed as Lamellar Keratoplasty. The diseased or severely damaged cornea can be replaced even by an artificial cornea instead of donor cornea by procedure known as Keratoprosthesis. This artificial cornea is usually made of plastic and has high tissue tolerance and excellent optical properties. But this is expensive procedure when compared to the traditional method of transplant that uses donor tissue.

Keratoconus Treatment or C3R treatment:
Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea can cause thinning of cornea, changing it to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve. This corneal disorder causes substantial distortion of vision, with multiple images, streaking and sensitivity to light. The progression of the disease may require surgery including intrastromal corneal ring segments, corneal collagen cross-linking, or corneal transplantation. Popular as C3R treatment, the Corneal Collagen Cross Linking with Riboflavin is an innovative treatment developed specially for Keratoconus patients. This treatment includes one time application of riboflavin solution to the eye and is activated by the illumination of ultra violet rays. The usage of Riboflavin in C3R treatment helps to recover and preserve some of the cornea’s mechanical strength. Ultra violet rays are not harmful to eyes when used in measured dosages. The light emission is carefully measured prior to the treatment, to ensure that it is not harmful. However, riboflavin that is used on the cornea absorbs the UV rays. It will prevent the UV rays from direct contact with retina layer. This is simple non invasive treatment that strengthens the cornea and helps to flatten the curvature occurred due to Keratoconus completely on a long time basis.

The main advantage of this Keratoconus treatment is that it gives some relief from progressive Ectasia. Professional researchers say that only one time treatment of C3R is enough for treating Keratoconus patients with less risk. Another way of Keratoconus correction is intrastromal corneal implant where intracorneal rings are used for Keratoconus patients to re enforce cornea and for reducing the elongated shape of the cone. These ICR segments are two plastic arc shaped removable implants, which are inserted on the perimeter of a corneal stroma through a small surgical incision. These intrastromal corneal rings are designed using latest surgical technologies, are perfectly tolerated by the eye and are the perfect treatment for Keratoconus.