On the role of mechanical friction in the development of progressive keratoconus (the clinical case)

    Abstract

    On the role of mechanical friction in the development of progressive keratoconus (the clinical case)

    E.G. Solodkova, O.S. Kuznetsova

    The Volgograd Branch of the S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution, Volgograd

    The presented clinical case clearly demonstrates that the starting point for the emergence and further gradual progression of keratoconus in patients with an anatomical predisposition - the presence of a cornea with a thickness below the average, was the constant rubbing of the cornea with eyelashes, the edge of the eyelid with flashing, and arbitrary hand rubbing due to discomfort, which caused damage to the epithelial layer of the cornea and triggered the process of apoptosis of keratocytes. Surgical treatment of keratoconus - cross-linking of corneal collagen - in this case will not be effective without eliminating the main cause of the disease - the turn of the edge of the upper eyelid and blepharohalasis.

    Key words: keratoconus, blepharohalasis, mechanical friction, eyelid twist, apoptosis, corneal epithelium.