UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi my husband has KC and has had it for many years. Luckily his has stopped progressing. However, he has alot of problems with putting in contact lenses, being able to use them the full day and generally being comfortable. I recently heard about a doctor in Los Angeles that invented a new system called Holcomb C3-R (his name is Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler). I wanted to see if anyone had any information on this system and if they've used it themselves. And if so, how it impacted their sight and if they've had any side affects. TIA!

Holcomb C3-R, is, as far as I know, just the same as regular CXL (cross-linking) which is available here in the UK on the NHS in some areas. It's marketing really, as Holcomb is just the name of the famous sports personality he performed this procedure on...

In fact, after a bit more research it seems like it's epi-on which is said to be less effective than epi-off. Either way, it's unlikely to improve vision or comfort for your husband. The reason CXL exists is to stop progression... if your husbands keratoconus isn't progressing anyway, it's probably not worth looking at, as there are risks involved.

I would suggest looking at different contacts, i.e. different materials and types (such as hybrid or piggy backing) and perhaps try using lubricants to get through the day. Personally I started with RGP's (rigid lenses) which were horrible for comfort, I could only last a few hours. I eventually found some soft toric lenses which are about 90% of the vision, but can be worn up to 12 hours and sometimes over if I really have to!