THE RELEVANCE OF BIOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN PATIENTS WITH KERATOCONUS

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Abstract

The number of studies about biomechanics of the cornea is growing, due to the influence of these properties on the predictability of good results for refractive surgery procedures and the management of cross-linking. However, only recent studies have used techniques and devices that provide in vivo measurements. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the range of changes in time of the corneal biomechanical properties: corneal hysteresis (ch) and corneal resistance factor (crf) - measured using the ocular response analyzer (ora) (reichert corporation, depew, usa) in patients with keratoconus in different stages of disease progression. The present study is retrospective. 37 patients (59 eyes) with keratoconus were examined during 3 ophthalmological examinations (1 year interval ) at a private clinic in bucharest, for a period of 3 years. The majority of patients with keratoconus in various stages of evolution (most of them stage i and ii) has been found to have a decreasing mean in time of the corneal biomechanical parameters (crf and ch). In conclusion, corneal biomechanical parameters correlate positively with the stage of the keratoconus.