Collagen cross-linking is a boon for patients with conical corneas

Collagen cross-linking technology has been used in Europe for nearly 20 years. It is currently being declared for clinical application by our FDA and is expected to be approved next year. The technology was first used mainly for the treatment of cone corneas. Because the prevalence of conical cornea is about 1/2300, there are about 1 million patients in China. The natural course of cone cornea is generally myopia – astigmatism – corneal white spot – surgery from the teenage years. The whole process takes an average of 6-8 years, and there is no way to stop its progress, and finally only corneal transplantation can be done. But surgery is not only costly, but complications and other complications are hard to avoid. Therefore, the collagen cross-linking technique has been researched abroad. By infiltrating riboflavin into the corneal stroma and then irradiating it with a certain amount of ultraviolet light, cross-linking between collagen fibers occurs and the fibers thicken, enhancing the resistance of the cornea to tension and stopping its further development. This method has proven to be very effective and has now evolved to be used to treat diseases such as infectious keratitis. This technique is currently a hot topic of international research, but of course, its possible complications and long-term efficacy are still under rigorous study and observation.