Meet Our Keratoconus Specialist in Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Nazanin Khadem is originally from Woodstock, GA. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Kennesaw State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology. She graduated from Rosenberg School of Optometry in 2014. She completed her clinical externships in ocular disease at Malcolm Randall VA medical center in Gainesville, Florida and LASIK, cataract and cross-linking pre and post-operative care at Dell Laser consultant in Austin, Texas. Her emphasis is on primary care optometry, ocular disease, and contact lens. In her free time, Dr. Khadem enjoys running, paddle boarding.
Dr. Cynthia Cieszko received her Associate of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1979 and her Bachelor of Science degree in 1982 from the University of Houston. She graduated with honors from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1984.
Dr. Cieszko has been providing eye care to the Atlanta area since 1986. She is a member of the Georgia Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association. Dr. Cieszko is also an avid supporter of the OneSight program which provides eye care to people in need both locally and internationally. She is dedicated to providing her patients at Perimeter Eye Group with the highest quality eye care and service available.
Our Doctor Can Diagnosis and Treat Keratoconus
Your cornea is the transparent, outer lens of your eye, and it typically has a smooth dome shape. Keratoconus describes a condition in which the corneal structure isn’t strong enough to maintain a healthy ball shape.
Meet with our Keratoconus Specialist in Atlanta, Georgia to define your eye's condition and ways for treatment.
As a result, the cornea bulges outward into more of a cone. Our professional optometric team at our eye care clinic is knowledgeable about how to diagnose and treat keratoconus.
Keratoconus is rare, with an estimated one person out of every 2,000 having the condition. It generally appears in the teenage years and can progress slowly or rapidly.
Keratoconus also runs in families, so if you or your children are at risk, it’s advised to contact us for a thorough eye exam.
Causes of Keratoconus
Your cornea is held in place by very small collagen fibers. When they are weakened and too fragile, they aren’t able to preserve the round shape of your cornea.
A reduction in the protective antioxidants of your cornea, which act to destroy damaging by-products made naturally by corneal cells, is what causes keratoconus.
In addition to genetics, some types of eye injuries may increase your chance of being diagnosed with keratoconus.
Specific ocular diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, vernal keratoconjunctivitis and retinopathy of prematurity, as well as some systemic conditions (Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Leber's congenital amaurosis and osteogenesis imperfecta) are also associated with this corneal abnormality.
Our Keratoconus Specialist in Atlanta, Georgia has years of experience identifying the various levels of keratoconus and other corneal conditions.
Symptoms of Keratoconus
When the shape of your cornea begins to bulge, it alters your eyesight in two different ways. As the cone shape forms, your normally smooth corneal surface becomes wavy, called irregular astigmatism. Additionally, as your cornea expands, vision becomes increasingly nearsighted. Focusing becomes impossible without eyeglasses or contact lenses. Usually, the problems begin in one eye and develop later in the other eye too.
Typically, patient’s eyeglass prescription will change often as the vision becomes worse and contact lenses will be difficult to wear due to discomfort and improper fit.
When keratoconus become more severe (which usually takes a long time however on occasion can happen rather quickly), the cornea can begin to swell and form scar tissue. This scar tissue can result in even further visual distortion and blurred vision.
Altogether, these changes can create the following symptoms:
- Blurred vision
- Streaking of lights
- Halos around bright lights at night; glare
- Sudden change of vision in only one eye
- Objects appear distorted, both near and distant
- Double vision from just one eye
- Triple ghost images
How We Diagnose Keratoconus
Our eye doctors will inspect carefully for the signs of keratoconus during your comprehensive eye exam. It’s critical to inform us of any symptoms that you’ve been experiencing. To diagnose the condition, we’ll measure the shape of your cornea. Computerized Corneal Topography is used for this procedure, which takes a picture of your cornea and analyzes it instantly.