Cornea Problems Specialist

What are the signs of cornea problems?

In the early stages of cornea damage or disease, you may not have obvious symptoms. But, as the disease progresses, you may experience:

• Cloudy vision
• Distorted vision
• Difficulty with night vision
• Glare around lights
• Contact lenses won’t stay in place in your eyes
• Redness or inflammation in your eyes

Cornea problems tend to be progressive, so it’s important to seek help as soon as you observe possible cornea problems.

What causes cornea problems?

More minor cornea problems can be triggered by allergies, wearing contact lenses too long, or dry eyes. Fortunately, all of these are easily treatable and usually don’t require surgery.

With corneal dystrophies, like keratoconus, in which your cornea steadily becomes cone-shaped, and Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy, in which your cornea swells due to an abnormal endothelium layer, the causes aren’t definitively known at this time.

Sometimes, problems like cornea scarring may develop after eye trauma. No matter the reason for your cornea problems, Dr. Khachikian can diagnose the issue and treat it with state-of-the-art solutions.

How are cornea problems diagnosed and treated?

Dr. Khachikian uses a variety of tests to evaluate your corneas before making a diagnosis. Usually, this includes eye refraction tests, a slit-lamp exam, keratometry, and computerized corneal mapping.

Treatment for minor corneal problems can include prescription eye drops, punctal plugs, intense pulsed light therapy, custom contact lenses, and other noninvasive solutions. Collagen cross-linking can be an effective light-based treatment for keratoconus.

If you need surgery to correct your cornea problem, Dr. Khachikian is a corneal surgery expert who has performed many corrective surgeries over the years, including:

• General corneal transplant - with donated tissue
• Keratoprosthesis - transplant with an artificial cornea
• Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty - replaces basement corneal membrane
• Limbal cell transplant - adds stem-cells to trigger epithelium cell growth
• Photo-therapeutic keratectomy - removes endothelium and smooths cornea
• Superficial keratectomy - removes anterior stroma and outer cornea
• Pterygium removal - removes a too-thick corneal coating
• Laceration repair - laser surgery, irrigation, patch, or small suture
• Intacs® - cornea implant to flatten cornea in keratoconus sufferers
• IntraLase® enabled keratoplasty - replaces cornea using a specialized pattern for optimal fit
• Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty - replaces outer cornea but leaves the inner part intact

Dr. Khachikian always chooses the most effective solution to ensure you achieve the optimal cornea health you deserve.

Request an appointment online or call the office of Stephen Khachikian, MD, for cornea problem help now.