UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi there folks I have a bad left eye not much vision and I have been told I need a cornea transplant as my vision is very distorted and the cornea is scarred. Is this the best way to go are there any other options? I have quite good vision in my right eye but my left is really bad can only make out shapes. Cant see the top letter on an eye chart. If a cornea transplant is the only option who is the best to go and see any recommendations? I like in the south west Stroud near Gloucester. Have been to Bristol eye hospital but have not had alot of confidence in the advice I have received...

Hello VW, welcome to the forum.

I am afraid that if your cornea is scarred then a transplant may be the only option. Scarring of the cornea can result from a number of things, but if the scar is in your field of vision and if it penetrates into the stroma of the cornea then the blur it creates may not be correctable without the tissue being replaced. Sometimes scarring penetrates the full thickness of the cornea, even affecting the endothelium.

Every good wish.

Do you know how you got the scar? I'm wondering if corneal 'haze' can be referred to as scarring too (which I have)

Hi VW,
I'm not clear from your post whether your vision is with contact lenses of some kind, or whether that's unaided vision. There's now a wide range of contact lenses for KC, including scleral lenses (the ones that cover the whole eye) which might give you better vision, depending on how bad the scarring is. A lot of scarring (which sometimes happens as part of KC progression) would probably mean that CXL or Intacs wouldn't help you. If a transplant is your only option, there are plenty of us here on the forum who have had good results from transplants though it's by no means an instant solution! As for where, the general advice is that surgeons in the big city hospitals (which would include Bristol) are the ones who are likely to be doing transplants regularly and so have a lot of expertise.
If you e-mail me your postal address anne@keratoconus-group.org.uk I can send you our information booklet on KC which covers all the current options.
Anne