Corneal ectatic disorders

The "conical cornea" that is characteristic of keratoconus.

Corneal ectatic disorders or corneal ectasia are a group of uncommon, noninflammatory, eye disorders characterised by bilateral thinning of the central, paracentral, or peripheral cornea.

• Keratoconus, a progressive, noninflammatory, bilateral, asymmetric disease, characterized by paraxial stromal thinning and weakening that leads to corneal surface distortion.
• Keratoglobus, a rare noninflammatory corneal thinning disorder, characterised by generalised thinning and globular protrusion of the cornea.
• Pellucid marginal degeneration, a bilateral, noninflammatory disorder, characterized by a peripheral band of thinning of the inferior cornea.
• Posterior keratoconus, a rare condition, usually congenital, which causes a nonprogressive thinning of the inner surface of the cornea, while the curvature of the anterior surface remains normal. Usually only a single eye is affected.
• Post-LASIK ectasia, a complication of LASIK eye surgery.
• Terrien's marginal degeneration, a painless, noninflammatory, unilateral or asymmetrically bilateral, slowly progressive thinning of the peripheral corneal stroma.

Treatment

Treatment options include contact lenses and intrastromal corneal ring segments for correcting refractive errors caused by irregular corneal surface, corneal collagen cross-linking to strengthen a weak and ectatic cornea, or corneal transplant for advanced cases.

External links

• International Journal of Keratoconus and Ectatic Corneal Diseases