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PACK-CXL: Cross-linking the cornea… to conquer infection

EyeWorld’s Jonathan Kahn (JK) interviews Farhad Hafezi (FH) for a PACK-CXL update.

Transcript

JK: Good morning from the ESCRS conference in Vienna Austria. We’re pleased to have again Dr. Farhad Hafezi from Switzerland. Thanks a lot for being with us today.

FH: Thank you.

JK: I’d like to speak with you this morning about a different type of cross-linking treatment which has been evolving for us, which is using cross-linking to treat microbial keratitis or infectious keratitis. You and others have done quite a bit of work on this topic but I understand that there’s some new information that you’d like to present. Tell us about that.

FH: Yes, we’ve been in tight collaboration with Boris Knyaser from Israel, who has run a very interesting study that has just been submitted now, and basically he has compared two arms in infectious keratitis: one arm is conventional antimicrobial treatment, and the other is antibiotics plus PACK crosslinking. And what he has found, and the numbers are quite high: it’s 40 eyes in in one arm, 32 eyes in the combined arm.

What he has found is that the time to healing was substantially faster; significantly faster in the combined procedure arm. In other words, if you add a cross-linking procedure to antibiotics, the corneas, with an average also size of more than 3 mm, they healed in seven days as opposed to 12 days in the antibiotics only arm.

JK: Well, this is really not surprising data, but it’s interesting data to support the use of cross-linking in treating infectious keratitis. I’m curious were these cases the more severe cases of infectious keratitis? Were they more mild cases or did they run a gamut there?

FH: These were intermediate ulcers according to the classification of the Academy, but what makes it interesting is two things: first of all they retreated in an accelerated protocol – so not for half an hour, but for a few minutes only. And the second issue is this is still done with the fluence of 5.4 J/cm² as we do in conventional cross-linking. We will go up to 7.2 J/cm² – even higher in newer protocols to increase the efficacy of the method.

JK: Do you think that it’s possible that cross-linking may be proposed as a standalone treatment for infectious keratitis? Do you think that a trial comparing cross-linking alone versus topical antibiotics may be considered instead of cross-linking with antibiotics?

FH: This might be the case in very ulcers, but I think more realistic would be to shorten the time of antibiotic regimen, so instead of giving antibiotics for two weeks it might be a few days only. But our multicenter trial is doing exactly this: antibiotics alone versus cross-linking alone. We have a little more than twenty eyes in the study now and the first results look quite promising.

JK: Well, we will look forward to the results of that study when they become available, and again thank you so much for explaining this very important topic, which is collagen cross-linking in infectious keratitis. Thanks again.

FH: Thank you.

The ELZA Institute

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Augeninstitut ELZA
4.8
Based on 109 reviews
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mike
mike
09:02 04 Jan 23
Overall as a 50 year old, who wanted to continue to avoid wearing glasses and/or contact lenses, my goal was 100%... achieved with ELZA and Dr. Hafezi. I greatly appreciated the overall approach by Dr. Hafezi and his friendly and competent team in reviewing my vision at the start and following a comprehensive eye exam- the explanations of my options. For me I chose PRK in one eye for a monovision solution to correct short sightedness which was becoming more prevalent in night driving and sports such as skiing and cycling. PRK heals slowly but the outcome is worth the wait- and the cost- you use your eyes every waking moment- and for me I cannot see any reason not to pursue better vision with the ELZA team! A great quality of life enhancement!read more
Zuzana Fecko
Zuzana Fecko
21:48 31 Oct 22
Thank you so much, Dr. Torres and prof. Hafezi. 26 years I was only “dreaming” about the eye surgery due to possible... complications. I was worried ..Thank you for encouraging me to make a decision and thank you for your professionalism, explanations and great work!I wish you all the best, lots of success and only happy patients!read more
Serena Fazio
Serena Fazio
11:15 06 Mar 22
I have been to the ELZA clinic to have surgery for my miopy, as my eyes were rejecting the contacts and I was tired of... wearing glasses. From the first preliminary visit, to the actual surgery and post-surgery care Dr. Hafezi and all his collaborators have been extremely professional, considerate and helpful. All the steps of the (very short!) surgery were thoroughly explained to me in order to be as calm as possible, together with the medication plan and precautions to be aware of so that my eyes could heal in the best way possible. By following their exact instructions, the healing process has been very successful and smooth, and after about one week I was able to see perfectly. I absolutely recommend this team and their expertise!read more
Robin A
Robin A
11:43 16 Feb 22
Top experts and professional team. Highly recommended
Thunder Shiviah
Thunder Shiviah
14:05 23 Nov 21
After some research on local options I decided to go with ELZA since it stood out as the best. The operation and the... post-operation recovery went extremely smooth (something I was worried about with PRK). Now my vision is much better than I had hoped and I have no side effects such as dry eye or night vision problems. Thank you!read more
Thomas S.
Thomas S.
09:37 07 Jul 21
My left eye had to be operated on because of a cataract. As I had an Artiflex lens implanted a few years ago, it had to... be removed first before a modern lens could be implanted to correct the cataract. Prof. Hafezi treated me in an very competent and friendly manner. I am very happy with the result.read more
Selma A. Rahim
Selma A. Rahim
19:45 02 Jul 21
Dr. Hafezi.. the KING OF CXL🤴
Gianluca Ricci
Gianluca Ricci
12:46 10 Apr 21
Great team and service!
rehaneyecare
rehaneyecare
05:36 08 Apr 21
Excellent surgeon
Steven H.A
Steven H.A
16:13 11 Jan 21
Prof. F. Hafezi s expertise is enormous and he has a very pleasant and calm nature which gives the patient... security.Thank youread more
Online Commande
Online Commande
09:19 05 Dec 20
Totally creepy, very arrogant Prof.He just want your money.It may explain, why this Prof. is not in the center of the... city of Zürich and why he has been thrown away from University of Geneva.read more
Elena Churilova
Elena Churilova
10:06 17 Nov 20
At the moment, 3 months have passed since the moment I made laser vision correction in this clinic. and I can say that... I am happy that I chose this particular clinic and Prof. F. Hafezi. The entire staff of the clinic is very friendly, treats patients with sympathy and patience if they are nervous before surgery (my big gratitude to Aida Alili for all support and patience). The doctor Hafezi and other doctors of the clinic are very professional and ready to explain to you as many times as you need. I can only recommend!read more
Michele Aggiato
Michele Aggiato
18:17 10 Jan 20
The day I had Prof Hafezi checking my keratoconus I knew I was finally in the right place after years of searching for... a good ophthalmologist. Prof Hafezi recommended a surgery due to a drastic degeneration of my cornea. The surgery was performed by himself with the assistance of Dr Rodriguez, one more collaborator of Prof Hafezi’s team who got my full trust.read more
Ashley Faulkes
Ashley Faulkes
15:30 21 Mar 16
Professor Hafezi and the team at the ELZA Institute have done an amazing job of creating a first class eye clinic, with... cutting edge technology and support. I went there for a dry eye issue and other issues with my prescription, and they were easily able to help me and put me on the road to better vision! High recommend them to anyone in the Zurich/Aargau area.read more
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Augeninstitut ELZA
4.8
Based on 109 reviews
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