SEATTLE — Keeping our vision strong is important throughout life. Conditions like keratoconus, though, can cause vision to decline.
“The cornea is important to be clear,” said Dr. Luke Barker of SharpeVision. “When it’s clear, you can see. If it was cloudy, like the side wall, you wouldn’t see anything.”
With keratoconus, the cornea becomes thin and develops a cone-like shape, making vision less clear. It can happen for many reasons, some genetic, and some related to allergies and eye rubbing, and can start as early as childhood. Traditionally, the condition has only been repairable with a corneal transplant.
“Usually, it’s under 30 when we start to see it manifest,” Dr. Barker said. “And by the time you’re 50, you’ve usually already needed a transplant.”
While a transplant is a major procedure, corneal cross-linking (CXL) is a newer, noninvasive way to stop progression of corneal thinning. A doctor will bathe the surface of the eye in riboflavin and use ultraviolet light to cause a cross-linking to happen in the chemical bonds of the cornea.
“Think of a basket,” Dr. Barker said. “If a basket is woven together with just parallel weaves, it’s going to be very weak, but if you cross it together, it’s much more strong and rigid.”
Those who receive a corneal transplant, rather than CXL, need someone else’s tissue for the procedure, will have to use anti-rejection drops for the rest of their life and must continue to wear contacts.
“With cross-linking, especially if we can catch the disease early before it progresses, you can freeze and stop the progression in its tracks,” Dr. Barker said.
The earlier you do CXL, the better the outcome. That’s why diagnosing keratoconus early is important.
“There’s not any needles or blood or scalpels or any of that crazy stuff like you’d see with a transplant,” Dr. Barker said.
SharpeVision is one of the only practices in the Pacific Northwest to offer this procedure, and the doctors there will work with you to determine the best path forward for your eyesight. Learn more on the SharpeVision website.
Sponsored by SharpeVision
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.