The cornea is the front, transparent part of the eye and, as one of the light-refracting media, plays a key role in the imaging of the perceived objects.

As the only transparent tissue in the human body, the cornea of ​​the eye can be regarded as a miracle of nature. On average, it is 0.5 mm thick and consists of 5 layers and membranes.

Keratoconus and Co.

The term is made up of "keras" (Greek) for horn and "cone" (Latin) for cone and thus designates a cone-like protrusion of the cornea.

Changes that cause deformation of the transparent cornea are called ectatic diseases. Their course is generally progressive, but hardly predictable in individual cases.

If only central areas are thinned, one speaks of the Kerato cone. If the entire cornea bulges out like a ball, this is called a kerato globus.

If an extreme curvature of the cornea with thinning in the lower periphery develops, this is a so-called kerato torus or pellucid marginal degeneration.

Corneal disease keratoconus

Therapy of keratoconus

According to current medical knowledge, keratoconus is not "curable". The reason for the partial bulging and thinning is a biomechanical weakness of the cornea.

We can now counteract the progression of the disease with microsurgical interventions.
These include the artificial hardening of the cornea (riboflavin-UVA crosslinking), which in many cases "freezes" the stage of the disease.

As a further option, ring segments can be implanted almost invisibly into the cornea. In addition to flattening and regularizing the corneal curvature, this intervention also stabilizes the process.

In advanced cases, the last resort is a perforating excimer laser keratoplasty (corneal transplant). The thinned and scarred tissue is replaced by clear donor tissue.

1. schematic shape of the keratoconus cornea 2. schematic shape of the
  1. schematic shape of the "normal" cornea
  2. schematic shape of the keratoconus cornea
Homburg Keratoconuscenter HKC

Homburg Keratoconuscenter

Learn more about the Homburg Keratoconus Center HKC. There, especially the causes, early diagnosis and the individual, stage-specific long-term therapy of keratoconus are extensively researched here.

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