UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi My 11 year old son is booked in to have the cross linking on both eyes in a few weeks. Can anyone give me any advice on this please? He is being put to sleep to have it done. How painful will it be for him after and how long will his vision be blurry for after the procedure?? Would love to hear off anyone who has a child of a similar age that has had it done.
Thanks in advance

Hello kittikat and welcome to the forum,
I don't know if you've seen this information leaflet, which answers some of your questions http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/sites/defa ... king_4.pdf
From what I've read on this forum from people who have had CXL done, the first 24hrs or so after the procedure can be pretty painful, though painkillers will be prescribed. Of course, everybody's different, but the blurriness usually lasts for a few weeks. I'm not sure we have any forum users who have children of a similar age who have had it done, though I do remember a 12 year old going to Dresden for the procedure quite a few years ago now before CXL was available in the UK.
All the best
Anne

Hi Anne
Thank you very much for the link. We are all very anxious and my son has to make the decision whether to have just 1 eye done at a time or get both done at once, which is what the surgeon would prefer so he doesn't have to put him to sleep twice.

Is it your son's young age that means he'd be having CXL done under a general anaesthetic? As it's a minimally invasive procedure, it's usually done with just a local anaesthetic though it may be different in this age group.