Case Report of Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segment (CAIRS) in a Keratoconic Eye

Introduction Corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segment surgery is a new technique to help flatten the keratoconic eye in an effort to improve a patient’s uncorrected visual acuity. Corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segment surgery uses an arc-shaped donor corneal stromal tissue. Case Report A 54-year-old Asian Indian man with a 40-year history of keratoconus presented to the clinic with a desire to make his prescription “more simplified.” He has used glasses, corneal gas permeable, and scleral lenses to correct his vision. His entering, uncorrected visual acuity was 20/300 right eye/left eye, which improved to 20/30 right eye/left eye when corrected with contact lenses. Corneal topography demonstrated inferior cones, with right eye keratometry values of 47.4/50.1@110.3 with a maximum keratometry value of 51.7 diopters and left eye keratometry values of 48.6/51.7@58.5 with a maximum keratometry value of 55.1 diopters. Refraction was found to be -10.25 -4.50 × 030 right eye with 20/60 visual acuity and -10.25 -4.75 × 155 left eye with 20/40 visual acuity. The patient opted to pursue a corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segment procedure in his right eye. His postoperative corneal topography flattened significantly centrally, and his keratometry values changed to 36.9/44.1@122.2. The patient subsequently underwent cataract surgery and scleral lens fit with excellent results. Conclusion Corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segment surgery is a viable option for patients with keratoconus who would like to be less dependent on their contact lenses. Although it does not fix their refractive error, it can be used to supplement a patient’s contact lenses and improve their quality of life.