Cross-linking in Riyadh had a busy week in early September. Prof. Farhad Hafezi, MD, PhD, FARVO, ELZA’s Chief Medical Officer, travelled to the Saudi capital from 2–5 September 2026 for two engagements: a hands-on teaching workshop at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) and an invited lecture at the Jamjoom SEE Vision Forum.
A workshop at KKESH
On 3 September, Prof. Hafezi led a two-hour workshop at KKESH, Saudi Arabia’s tertiary referral eye hospital, on the newest clinical applications of corneal cross-linking (CXL) – the procedure that uses riboflavin (vitamin B2) drops and UV light to stiffen the cornea and halt keratoconus.
The session covered three protocols developed at ELZA: ELZA-PACE, a customised cross-linking protocol that aims not only to stabilise the keratoconic cornea but also to reshape it and recover visual quality; ECO-CAIRS, ELZA’s femtosecond-laser technique for implanting corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segments; and epi-on ELZA-sub400, an individualised protocol that extends cross-linking to ultra-thin corneas without removing the cornea’s protective surface layer.
Cross-linking in Riyadh, beyond keratoconus
The following evening, Prof. Hafezi spoke at the SEE Vision Forum, an ophthalmology meeting hosted by Jamjoom Pharma at the Hilton Granada Riyadh. His lecture, “Using CXL to treat infectious keratitis”, addressed PACK-CXL – photoactivated chromophore for keratitis-corneal cross-linking, a term Prof. Hafezi himself defined. PACK-CXL applies the same riboflavin-and-UV-light principle to a different problem: inactivating the bacteria and fungi that cause corneal infections, a leading cause of avoidable blindness worldwide.
The two sessions reflect how far cross-linking has moved beyond its original single indication. What began as one protocol for halting keratoconus now spans customised corneal reshaping, treatment of ultra-thin corneas and the management of corneal infection – the full spectrum that cross-linking in Riyadh covered this week.
Prof. Hafezi returns to Saudi Arabia on 24–26 September, when he and Nikki Hafezi present four talks at the inaugural SSCRS congress in Jeddah. The protocols taught in Riyadh, including ELZA-PACE, ECO-CAIRS and ELZA-sub400, are performed at the ELZA Institute.
