Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Three Different Protocols of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking in Keratoconus: Conventional, Accelerated and Iontophoresis
Published on: November 12, 2015
Simultaneous topography-guided PRK followed by corneal collagen cross-linking for keratoconus
George D Kymionis1, Georgios A Kontadakis, George A Kounis
1Institute of Vision and Optics University of Crete, Greece. kymionis@med.uoc.fr
Purpose:
To present the results after simultaneous photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) followed by corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) for progressive keratoconus.
Methods:
Twelve patients (14 eyes) with progressive keratoconus were prospectively treated with customized topography-guided PRK with the Pulzar Z1 (wavelength 213 nm, CustomVis) immediately followed by corneal collagen CXL with the use of riboflavin and ultraviolet A irradiation.
Results:
Mean follow-up was 10.69+/-5.95 months (range: 3 to 16 months). Mean preoperative spherical equivalent refraction (SE) was -3.03+/-3.23 diopters (D) and defocus was 4.67+/-3.29 D; at last follow-up SE and defocus were statistically significantly reduced to -1.29+/-2.05 D and 3.04+/-2.53 D, respectively (P<.01). Preoperative mean (logMAR) uncorrected visual acuity was 0.99+/-0.81 and best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was 0.21+/-0.19, which improved postoperatively to 0.16+/-0.15 and 0.11+/-0.15, respectively. The mean steepest keratometry was reduced from 48.20+/-3.40 D preoperatively to 45.13+/-1.80 D at last follow-up.
Conclusions:
Simultaneous PRK followed by CXL seems to be a promising treatment capable of offering functional vision in patients with keratoconus.
