Keratoconus and Corneal Transplants

Until the introduction of corneal cross-linking (CXL), the only method available for treating keratoconus was corneal transplantation. 

It is important to know that corneal transplantation does not replace the entire cornea but only a central disc of 8-9 mm. This means that the peripheral cornea is preserved in patients with keratoconus, and it’s from here keratoconus can return to the graft over the years: this happens in 10–15% of all grafts 10 years after transplantation.

We were the first to investigate whether CXL can help to stop keratoconus once it returns into a graft. We published our findings in 2010 with ELZA member Prof. Farhad Hafezi as the publication’s first author. Experience with several cases have shown that cross-linking helps to stabilize the cornea when keratoconus returns to the graft.