intacs for management of keratoconus

purpose: to assess the efficacy of intrastromal rings for management of keratoconus (kcn). methods: this prospective non comparative case series includes 14 eyes of 11 contact lens intolerant patients with kcn. corneal thickness of at least 450 m at the site of segment insertion was required for enrollment. uncorrected visual acuity (ucva), best corrected visual acuity (bcva), refraction, pachymetry, endothelial cell count and anterior chamber depth were measured pre and post operatively. results: fourteen eyes of 11 patients (7 male and 4 female) with mean age of 32 years (21-40) were operated and followed 3 to 8 months (mean 6.1 months). ucva increased from 0.76 ± 0.40 logmar preoperatively to 0.45 ± 0.30 post operatively and bcva from 0.29 ± 0.10 to 0.23 ± 0.20 (p= 0.001). mean preoperative spherical equivalent was -4.19 ± 1.70 d which decreased to -2.10±2.30 d post-operatively. mean pre and post operative keratometry was 48.64 ± 3.1 and 45.21 ± 3.0, respectively. major complications included segment displacement in 3 eyes (21%) with severe vascularization in 2. lipoid deposition occurred in the tunnel in 4 eyes (29%) and one broken segment was noticed 3 days after the operation. conclusion: intacs are effective for the treatment of mild to moderate kcn, however it can not be an alternative to deep lamellar keratoplasty or penetrating keratoplasty.