Is Keratoconus a True Ectasia?An Evaluation of Corneal Surface Area

Open Access

1 September 2000

journal article
research article
Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in Archives of Ophthalmology (1950)

Vol. 118 (9) , 1179-1186
https://doi.org/10.1001/archopht.118.9.1179

Abstract

KERATOCONUS is a degenerative corneal disease characterized by a localized region of stromal thinning that is spatially associated with a cone-shaped deformation of the surface.¹^-3 It has been inferred that keratoconus is an ectasia resulting from stromal stretching.⁴^,5 The term ectasia is defined as a dilation, expansion, or distension, all of which invoke the notion of an increase in surface area by a process of stretching. Despite wide acceptance that keratoconus represents a true ectasia, it has never been confirmed by objective measurements, nor have any accurate corneal surface area measurements been made from living corneas (Table 1).⁶^-12

Keywords

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:

Mechanical Behavior of the Sclera
Ophthalmologica, 1986