Intacs / Ferrara Rings

You will need to have a thorough preoperative eye examination to determine if your eyes are healthy and suitable for this procedure.

Your examination will include a variety of standard ophthalmic tests, general medical tests and a review of your medical history.

You will be have the opportunity to discuss the process with the staff and surgeons at Centre for Sight.

The procedure will be performed on another day (at least 24 hours after your initial consultation). The procedure itself will take less than 15 minutes per eye, but plan on at least a few hours for your visit.

Anaesthetic drops are used to numb the eye, which is held open throughout the procedure to prevent blinking.

Step 1: The Intralase Femtosecond laser (used for creation of the flap in Lasik at Centre for Sight) is used to create a 1mm incision and separate channels within the substance of the cornea.

Step 2: Intraocular Rings (Ferrara/Intacs) are then inserted into the channels one at a time. The eye is stabilised and rings rotated into place.

The cornea consists of several layers, much like a pad of paper. Creating space for the Intraocular Rings by the laser is like separating two pages just enough to create a space.

INTACS gently reshape the curvature of your cornea so that light rays focus properly on the retina. Objects in the distance, which once appeared blurry, become sharp and clear.

You may have the sensation of grittiness in your eyes for a few hours and perhaps a slight irritation for a day or two. For Keratoconus, visual improvement takes longer and can take up to several months and may still need contact lenses or glasses in order to see well.

You will be on eye drops for a few weeks following the procedure and will need a follow up visit at the Centre for Sight soon after the procedure, 1 month and 6 months.

At Centre for Sight INTACS are used mainly for the treatment of Keratoconus. Many patients come to see us for Lasik eye laser surgery, however are found not to be suitable because they have keratoconus which is sometimes subtle. Lasik is not suitable for patients with this condition, however Intacs or Ferrara ring inserts may be an option depending on the severity of the keratoconus. Your eye surgeon will after several investigations indicate whether your eye is suitable.

The Goals of Intacs or Ferrara rings is also different in that although we would like to fully correct the eye, this is not always possible. The goals are to improve the ability of the patient to tolerate glasses and contact lenses and obtain better vision. Many patients have become intolerant to lenses and traditionally the only option has been a corneal transplant. This procedure certainly has the potential to delay transplant surgery. Whether the procedure avoids transplantation altogether has yet to be determined.

Visual recovery in Keratoconus is also longer and can vary considerably from eye to eye. Tremendous fluctuation takes place early and then the vision gradually stabilises with many patients obtaining excellent vision with glasses or contact lenses. We emphasise: This is not like Lasik or laser eye surgery where visual recovery is rapid!

The use of Intralase at Centre for Sight has enabled us to enhance the procedure further and with changes in ring diameter we have been able to accomplish a large effect. Our nomogram is now being used by many other Intralase users around the world!