Corneal opacity

for eye care professionals who what's to understand corneal opacity in a simple way...

1. CORNEAL OPACITY By- Abhishek Yadav Optometrist Community Ophthalmology Dr. R. P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences

2. WHAT IS CORNEAL OPACITY? Corneal opacity is a disorder of the cornea. The cornea is the transparent structure on the front of the eyeball. Corneal opacity occurs when the cornea becomes scarred. This stops light from passing through the cornea to the retina and may cause the cornea to appear white or clouded over. Common causes include Infection, injury,  corneal abrasion or scratch  or swelling of the eye

3. RISK FACTORS Vitamin A deficiency Measles — when measles result in scarring/infection of the eye Foreign bodies striking the eye Eye injury, whether from a force, such as a poke in the eye, or from a chemical agent Herpes simplex virus — which can be transmitted to the eyes Other infections, including conjunctivitis Wearing contact lenses for a long period of time, especially overnight, can increase the risk of eye infections and also the chance of developing corneal opacity. Keratoconus Stevens-Johnson syndrome Congenital corneal abnormalities

4. Do You Have Corneal Opacity? Vision decrease or loss Pain or a feeling like there is something in your eye Eye redness, excessive tearing, or light sensitivity Area on the eye that appears cloudy, milky or is not completely transparent

5. TYPES OF CORNEAL OPACITY

6. nebula Faint opacity Superficial scars ( bowmans and stroma ) Covers the pupillary area Blurring vision and irregular astigmatism

7. macula Scarring of about half of the corneal stroma Semi-dense opacity

8. leucoma Dense white opacity Scarring of more than half of the corneal stroma ADHERENT LEUCOMA Seen when healing occurs after perforation of cornea with incarceration of iris

9. Anterior staphyloma An ectasia of psuedocornea (the scar formed from organised exudates and fibrous tissue covered with epithelium) which results after total sloughing of cornea, with iris plastered behind it is called anterior staphyloma

10. Corneal facet Sometimes the corneal surface is depressed at the site of healing (due to less fibrous tissue); such a scar is called facet . keractasia In this condition corneal curvature is increased at the site of opacity (bulge due to weak scar). Secondary changes in corneal opacity which may be seen in long-standing cases include: hyaline degeneration, calcareous degeneration, pigmentation and atheromatous ulceration.

11. Diagramatic depiction of corneal opacity: A, nebular; B , macular; C , leucomatous ; D , adherent leucoma

12. Treating Corneal Opacity Eye drops containing antibiotics, steroids or both Oral medications Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK), laser surgery Cornea transplant

13. Prevention Take care to avoid injuring the eye. Wear eye protection during any potentially dangerous activity. Make sure safety goggles are worn tight against the face, otherwise a foreign body can fly up under the goggles and injure the eye. Take proper care of contact lenses. Follow your doctor’s recommendations regarding wear and cleaning them. See your doctor right away if you think you have an eye infection, if you injured your eye, or if you develop any pain or change in vision

14. burden In India, it is estimated that there are approximately 6.8 million people who have vision less than 6/60 in at least one eye due to corneal diseases; of these, about a million have bilateral involvement . It is expected that the number of individuals with unilateral corneal blindness in India will increase to 10.6 million by 2020 . According to the National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB) estimates, there are currently 120,000 corneal blind persons in the country. According to this estimate there is addition of 25,000-30,000 corneal blindness cases every year in the country .  The burden of corneal disease in our country is reflected by the fact that 90% of the global cases of ocular trauma and corneal ulceration leading to corneal blindness occur in developing countries.

15. The causes of corneal scarring were Vitamin A deficiency (19%), measles in 3%, ophthalmia neonatorum in 1%, harmful traditional eye medicines in 1% and trauma and keratitis in the remaining 3 %. 3.7% is the prevalence of corneal opacity in total population of India. NEED FOR DONATION TO RESTORE LIGHT Annually around 55,000-60,000 corneas collected out of which approx 40-50 cornea can be utilized

16. Thank you