Collagen Crosslinking treatment is a relatively new treatment for the more mild forms of keratoconus that are traditionally managed with glasses and rigid contact lenses. This treatment has allowed patients who otherwise would have progressively become more and more visually disabled to resume driving and carry on a normal life.
The crosslinking treatment is done as an “in-rooms” procedure and takes 1-2 hours. The patient is given a mild sedative if required and the riboflavin eye drops are then applied for 30 minutes to “soak” the eye and prepare it for the UV treatement. The “treatment” portion of the procedure takes another 30 minutes and patients are allowed to listen to personal music equipment such as MP3 players to help relax during this phase.
Treatment is generally well tolerated but there is some discomfort in the first 48 hours, this can be easily managed with some pain relief.