Keratoconus can significantly impact your vision and quality of life, making it difficult to do things from reading to driving to keeping up with your favorite hobbies. If you’re struggling with this condition, you may have heard about Intacs as a potential treatment option.
Keep reading to learn more about what Intacs are and how they can help keratoconus patients.
What is Keratoconus?
Keratoconus is a progressive eye condition that typically begins in adolescence or early adulthood. The cornea, which is the clear, dome-shaped front surface of your eye, gradually thins and bulges outward into a cone-like shape.
This irregular shape prevents light from focusing properly on the retina, resulting in distorted vision. For many patients, the condition progresses slowly over 10-20 years. However, in some cases, it can advance rapidly, causing significant vision impairment.
Common symptoms include:
- Blurred or distorted vision
- Increased sensitivity to light and glare
- Difficulty driving at night
- Frequent changes in prescriptions
- Eye redness and swelling
- Progressive nearsightedness and irregular astigmatism
- Inability to wear regular contact lenses comfortably
As keratoconus advances, traditional corrective measures like glasses or soft contact lenses may no longer provide adequate vision correction. This is where specialized treatments like Intacs may be recommended.
What are Intacs?
Intacs are small, clear, crescent-shaped devices made of biocompatible plastic polymers. Originally FDA-approved for correcting mild nearsightedness, these micro-thin inserts have since received approval for treating keratoconus.
They’re placed within the peripheral layers of the cornea to reshape its surface and improve vision. These inserts don’t eliminate keratoconus, but they can significantly reduce its impact on your vision and potentially delay or prevent the need for more invasive procedures like corneal transplantation.
How Do Intacs Work for Keratoconus?
By adding structural support to the cornea’s periphery, Intacs help reduce the steepness of the cone-shaped bulge. The inserts help smooth out irregularities in the corneal surface, allowing light to focus more precisely on the retina.
Intacs also minimize the visual distortions typically experienced with keratoconus. In many cases, the procedure can halt or slow the progression of corneal bulging, leading to more stable vision over time.
The goal of Intacs is not to cure keratoconus but to improve functional vision enough that patients can effectively use glasses or contact lenses again or, in some cases, see adequately without them.
What to Expect During the Intacs Procedure
At South Texas Eye Institute, the Intacs procedure is performed as an outpatient surgery that typically takes 15-30 minutes per eye. Before the procedure, your eye doctor will conduct a comprehensive eye examination to determine if you’re a suitable candidate.
At this appointment, they will discuss expectations and potential outcomes, and pre-operative instructions will be provided. On the day of your procedure, numbing eye drops are applied for comfort.
A small incision is then made in the cornea so that channels can be created within the corneal layers using advanced technology. The Intacs segments are carefully inserted into these channels, and then the incision is typically secured with a small stitch that will later dissolve.
What is Recovery Like after the Intacs Procedure?
Recovery after the Intacs procedure is relatively quick, with minimal discomfort. Some mild discomfort, foreign body sensation, or light sensitivity may occur during the first few days of recovery.
Most patients notice vision improvement within a few days to weeks, but full stabilization of vision may take several weeks to months. You will need to attend follow-up appointments so your eye doctor can monitor healing and assess vision improvement.
Who is an Ideal Candidate for Intacs?
Intacs can be life-changing for many keratoconus patients, but they’re not suitable for everyone. Ideal candidates typically include:
- Patients with mild to moderate keratoconus
- Individuals who can no longer tolerate rigid gas-permeable contact lenses
- Patients with no significant corneal scarring
- Those with corneal thickness adequate for the procedure
- Patients seeking to improve functional vision or delay the need for a corneal transplant
What are the Results of Intacs for Keratoconus?
While Intacs offer significant benefits for many keratoconus patients, it’s important to maintain realistic expectations about the outcomes. Most patients still require some form of vision correction after the procedure, but their glasses or contact lens prescriptions are typically more stable and provide better vision than before.
While Intacs can help stabilize vision, they don’t directly address the underlying cause of keratoconus. Intacs are designed to remain in place permanently.
However, they can be removed or replaced if needed. The inserts themselves are durable and typically don’t need replacement under normal circumstances.
At South Texas Eye Institute, we carefully assess each patient’s condition to provide personalized expectations about potential outcomes.
Protect Your Vision from Keratoconus
If you’re struggling with keratoconus and would like to learn whether Intacs might be right for you, the experienced ophthalmologists at South Texas Eye Institute can help. Early intervention often leads to better outcomes in managing keratoconus.
Don’t let declining vision impact your quality of life. Schedule a consultation at South Texas Eye Institute in San Antonio, TX, to explore how advanced treatments like Intacs might help preserve your vision.
