HOW I DISCOVERED THE TRUE KERATOCONUS FORMULA?
1.Introduction 2. Glaucoma 3. My Glaucoma 4. The Ophthalmologist 5. The Origins of My Keratoconus Formula 6. The Second Ophthalmologist 7. The Third Ophthalmologist 8. The Fourth Ophthalmologist 9. My Keratoconus Formula is Finally Tested On My Own Eyes On 28 March 2025 10. My Keratoconus Formula is Declared To Be The One And Only TRUE KERATOCONUS FORMULA 11. The Theory Behind My Keratoconus Formula is Finally Established
Appendix A: The Application of My Keratoconus Formula to the Case Studies Referred To In My Article labelled "keratoconus 3."
Appendix B: The Application of My Keratoconus Formula to Andrew Turnbull's Article: IOL Calculations in Keratoconus
References:
Mr Andrew Turnbull: IOL Calculations in Keratoconus
Alice Rothwell, Andrew Turnbull: IOL Calculations For Patients With Keratoconus
Aazim A Siddiqui, Uday Devgan : Intraocular Lens Calculations in Atypical Eyes "keratoconus 4"
Jack X Kane et al (2020) : Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Power Formulas Modified for Patients with Keratoconus "kane 2"
Kendrick M Wang et al (2020) : Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Formulas in Eyes With Keratoconus "prof-barrett3"
G. Savini et al (2019) : Intraocular Lens Power Calculations In Eyes With Keratoconus
A. John Kanellopoulos : Toric IOL Calculations in Keratoconus
Jose Mendoza : IOL Calculations in The 21 st Century : New Formulas
PREFACE
This article is dedicated to:
Sheri L. Rohan MD
Jasmin Zvornicanin, Emir Cabric, Vahid
Jusufovic, Zlatko Musanovic, Edita Zvornicanin
Levy J. , Pitchkhadze A. , Lifshitz T. and
Divya Srikumaran MD
Without them my TRUE KERATOCONUS FORMULA would never have been discovered.
They were the only eye surgeons in the whole wide world who had the courage to write an article on this subject. They are the true heroes of modern day ophthalmology.
It is now becoming increasingly obvious to everyone that all research work into the problem of finding what lenses to use for a cataract operation for a person suffering from keratoconus has ceased and that only means one thing.
It really means that my keratoconus formula is the one and only TRUE KERATOCONUS FORMULA.
It also means one other thing. It also means that it is all left up to me now in order for me to find a solution to this problem, the problem which has eluded all ophthalmologists to the present day.
I do not have any easy answers to this problem, only a formula which has never been tested on anyone and some case studies and that is all.
The story that you are about to read is true.
Only the names of the characters involved have been anonymised in order to protect the reputation of the innocent.
1.INTRODUCTION
Some years ago, I found that I was in the process of developing cataracts. I was assured by my ophthalmologist that an amazing new procedure had been discovered and that this new procedure was capable of taking care of all cataracts for good. This new procedure was called "phacoemulsification." It was so amazing that every ophthalmologist in the world was overwhelmed with awe and amazement at how truly amazing it was for the treatment of cataracts and then some time later I was struck with the bad news.
This new procedure was not available for someone like me because I suffered from a rare eye disorder called "Keratoconus".
I was told that there was no formula available for me which could be used during a cataract operation.
All that I could do was to simply wait and hope for the best while the cataracts gradually blinded me. No one it seemed was the least bit interested in solving this problem. After all, where would anyone start into research work of this kind and in any event there was no funding available for such research work anway? No one it seems was carrying out any cataract operations on people suffering from keratoconus and worse still no one was even prepared to carry out such operations.
Solving this problem had little priority in the world of ophthalmology and what is even more surprising is that very few people around the world even really cared or displayed any concern for the poor souls who were affected by it. Only a small number of people around the world it seems were really affected by this problem and so, who really cared? It was as though the problem did not even exist and it was conveniently swept under the carpet for many years you may say.
After one particularly disheartening visit with my ophthalmologist one day, I went home in despair and placed my head in my hands and asked myself:
"What am I to do? What am I to do?"
In order to fully appreciate the dilemma that I found myself in, we need to go back to a time when I was first diagnosed with glaucoma.
2. GLAUCOMA
The origins of the word “glaucoma:”
The word glaucoma comes from the Greek glaukoma “opacity of the lens” from the root glaokommatos, “grey - eyed.”
The disorder, now defined as glaucoma was first documented by the Ancient Greeks in 400 BC. “Glaucosis” was first mentioned in Hippocratic writings as a blinding disease occurring most commonly in the elderly. The description stated that once the pupil has the colour of the sea, eyesight is destroyed and you will often find that the other eye is also blind. It is thought that this condition probably included various sight - threatening conditions including cataract and keratitis in addition to glaucoma.
It is a nice sounding word though isn't it, one must admit? It has a nice ring about it. Believe me there is nothing nice about glaucoma. When I was first diagnosed with glaucoma my whole world changed and came crashing down around me. Once I was diagnosed with glaucoma, my every waking moment became devoted to the onerous task of treating my glaucoma. I called it my glaucoma. But I wished that it belonged to someone else. You could say that it consumed my very existence. That is how devastating this disease becomes.
The sneak thief of sight
Ophthalmologists call glaucoma “ The sneak thief of sight.” because it acts silently and without much warning. I call glaucoma “ a disaster waiting to happen” or "the curse of all mankind." A more appropriate description for glaucoma is “ a ghastly way to die.” I don't know how people in ancient times would have coped with it. They would have had no idea as to what was going on or how to cope with the ravages of glaucoma. They would not have known that glaucoma was caused by a pressure build up within the eye. The only cure available for them would have been to go to the nearest cliff and jump off. There have been reports of people doing precisely that in ancient times and even in modern times. The ill effects of glaucoma could have been one of those reasons for doing precisely that. Due to famine, wars and disease the lifetime of most people in ancient times would have been limited to around thirty or forty years or so at the most. So that most of them would have been fortunate enough to have been spared the ravages of glaucoma.
Glaucoma mainly affects the elderly although there is closed - angle glaucoma which may affect the young. Closed - angle glaucoma is called acute angle - closure glaucoma and is defined as:
Closed - angle glaucoma
Closed - angle glaucoma is an ocular emergency that results from a rapid increase in intraocular pressure due to the outflow obstruction of aqueous humor.
Closed - angle glaucoma is something which I have been fortunate enough to avoid. I pity the poor person who suffers from this disastrous eye condition. I suffer from what is known as open - angle glaucoma which is the most common form of glaucoma.
In modern times we are fortunate enough to have modern day medicines in the form of prostaglandins. But these modern day wonder drugs have only recently been introduced. Without them, I do not know what I would have done. You can read about my experience with these modern day wonder drugs in my article called:
“Modern day miracles.”
Summary
There are mainly two types of glaucoma:
open -angle glaucoma and closed -angle glaucoma, open- angle glaucoma being the most common form of glaucoma.
Open - angle glaucoma is defined as:
Open - angle glaucoma:
Open-angle glaucoma is a chronic, progressive and irreversible multifactorial optic neuropathy characterised by an open angle of the anterior chamber, typical optic nerve head changes, retinal nerve fibre layer thinning and progressive loss of peripheral vision.
Treatment of glaucoma
The most popular treatment for glaucoma today is by means of prostaglandin eye drops. They have only been recently introduced for the treatment of glaucoma. Prior to the introduction of prostaglandins for the treatment of glaucoma, all eye - drops used for the treatment of glaucoma were largely ineffective.
3. MY GLAUCOMA
My first encounter with glaucoma occurred when I was listening to the radio one day and a voice came over the radio saying that a famous ophthalmologist would be discussing the dangers of glaucoma for everyone.
He started off by saying:
“Hello, everyone, today we will be discussing the dangers of glaucoma, a disease of the eye which is not very well known, or well publicised, or well understood, but could have devastating effects upon your eyesight if not caught early enough.”
I thought to myself:
“This should be interesting. I wonder if I have glaucoma?”
The doctor then went into great details about the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma, finally finishing up by saying:
“Eyesight is the most precious gift that anyone may possess. Every person should get a check up for glaucoma as soon as possible and this can be carried out by any optometrist at very little expense to yourself. It could save your eyesight. Thank you for your time.”
With those choice words the good doctor departed from the scene never to be heard from again.
The very next day, I went into town looking for the nearest optometrist that I could find and I found a quaint, little shop in the centre of town where I was greeted by Michelle, an optometrist who was rather fairly, young looking and appeared eager to assist me in whatever way that she could.
Michelle
How would I describe Michelle?
I would describe Michelle as the nicest person that I had ever met.
She asked me politely:
“What can we do for you today? Do you require a full optometrist eye test and glasses?”
“Oh no”, I replied.
“I only need a check up for glaucoma.”
She said:
“In that case, we can do it for you for free. It'll only take a few minutes. We have this new piece of equipment called a non - contact tonometer and it's quite fantastic, unlike the Goldmann Applanation Tonometer that ophthalmologists use today that is so awkward and cumbersome to use."
“Okay”, I said “that'll be fine.”
She then proceeded to expertly measure the eye pressure in each eye.
She then told me:
“You have an eye pressure of 23 in each eye.”
“Is that good or bad?" I asked.
She replied:
“It is highly suspicious and we recommend that you go and see an ophthalmologist at your earliest convenience.”
“Thank you” I said and I left the optometrist store wondering what was going to happen next?
What was going to happen next was only too obvious. I went looking for an ophthalmologist or rather I went looking for a species of humans called “ophthalmologica rara.” For those of you who are not familiar with Latin, it means a “rare ophthalmologist.”
This species of human beings has become so rare in fact that they have become almost extinct. They are so rare because they spend every waking hour of their lives carrying out cataract operations. Cataract operations have become one of the most popular and lucrative surgical procedures to be carried out on all elderly people alive today. This is because most elderly persons suffer from cataracts to some degree or other as cataracts are an inevitable part of the ageing process.
Unfortunately, we have now arrived at such a critical point in time where there are so many elderly people alive today due mainly to better medical treatment and improved food production throughout the world that we now find ourselves in a critical world wide shortage of ophthalmologists.
4. THE OPHTHALMOLOGIST
I experienced the same critical shortage of ophthalmologists even back then when I decided to go looking for my ophthalmologist.
At that time, we had what was known as the Yellow Pages.
Searching through the Yellow Pages, I discovered the name of my ophthalmologist merely by chance and I decided to pay him a visit.
This proved not to be as simple a task as it sounded because the ophthalmologist had his consulting rooms located on the other side of town and it meant catching two trains. Nothing is simple around these parts, not even the transport system. In any event, during my first visit to the ophthalmologist, using the train as my means of transport, I emerged onto a small hill overlooking the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms and there they were the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms.
I could just make out a rather small, red brick building in the distance with a green iron roof and at the front of the building there was a long wooden sign with the words “CATARACTS AND GLAUCOMA” written in large capital letters.
I thought to myself:
“This should be interesting. He treats cataracts as well as glaucoma. I wonder if I have cataracts as well as glaucoma?”
The custom around the world nowadays is for ophthalmologists to work privately and to have their consulting rooms located in the suburbs, usually in the wealthier suburbs and to carry out their cataract operations in a larger, centrally located, nearby operating theatre, all privately owned and paid for.
This system has the advantages of the ophthalmologist being able to pick and choose his own patients and to organise his own time table in a manner that suits himself.
The trend nowadays is away from large government owned hospitals.
Large government hospitals have the disadvantage that they are usually built to cater for the masses and inevitably lead to long, waiting lists and huge queues with great inconvenience to the public and in addition, they are usually always poorly funded by the government.
The private system on the other hand has its own flaws as well, because it is all left up to the generosity of the ophthalmologist whether or not you receive any treatment at all. If your ophthalmologist takes a dislike to you or you suffer from some rare eye disorder such as keratoconus then you could find yourself left out in the cold for no apparent reason of your own.
In any event, I emerged onto a small hill overlooking the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms and there they were the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms.
I thought to myself:
“Should I go down there and see the ophthalmologist or should I just turn around and go back home again? After all, my eye pressure readings were only 23. Normal eye pressure readings vary between 16 to 20. My reading was only 23, just a few points above 20.”
I did not realise it at the time, but the decision that I was about to make would affect the lives of millions of people around the world.
As expected, I did go down there. I walked past the large wooden sign with the words “CATARACTS AND GLAUCOMA” written in large capital letters upon it. I walked along a red concrete footpath which led me to an ornate front door which was made up entirely out of some fifteen opaque glass panels set into the front of the door.
I grasped the door handle firmly and opened the front door and I immediately stepped into the fascinating and wonderful world of ophthalmology;
The world of cataract operations, the world of phacoemulsification, the world of Goldmann applanation tonometers, the world of countless eye drops, the world of numerous IOL formulas, the world of retinas and macular degeneration, the world of visual field testing, the world of scotomas and corneal ademas, the world of the dreaded glaucoma and the list goes on and on.
I had stepped into the fascinating and wonderful world of ophthalmology and there was no going back for me from the events that were about to unfold before me. You could be forgiven for thinking that what was going to happen to me was all written in the stars in a manner of speaking. Fate had decreed unto me that I was destined to become the discoverer of this, my one and only true KERATOCONUS FORMULA and there was no going back for me once I had stepped into the doorway of the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms.
You may say that I had become trapped into a world which was not entirely of my own making.
Anyway, in front of me there was a long, dark passageway.
I then turned to my left and walked into a room full of plush, leather bonded chairs arranged in the form of a semicircle which were obviously there for the benefit of patients who may be waiting there for their very next appointment with the ophthalmologist.
I thought to myself:
“This ophthalmologist must be very kind and considerate towards all of his patients, otherwise why would he be providing them with such lavish and expensive furniture?
General practitioners in the area only provide their patients with rickety old wooden chairs which were the cheapest that money could buy.
It is either that or else he must be rolling in money from all of the cataract operations that he was performing.
I could only arrive at the obvious conclusion that ophthalmology must be a very lucrative business for those who were engaged in it. Otherwise, how would they be able to afford such lavish furniture?”
Either way, I had to meet this ophthalmologist and find out what was going on.
To my right there was a long counter with a large timber desk behind it and seated behind the desk was Sonia, the ophthalmologist’s secretary and chief assistant.
Sonia
How would I describe Sonia?
I would describe Sonia as the nicest person that I had ever met.
I gingerly approached the counter and Sonia greeted me in a very friendly manner by saying:
“Good afternoon. Welcome to our consulting rooms. How may we assist you today? The Doctor is away today in order to carry out surgical procedures on some of his patients. That is the reason why there are no patients here today.”
I sheepishly replied:
“My optometrist has recently advised me of the distinct possibility that I may have contracted glaucoma.”
Sonia replied succinctly:
“Oh dear, that is indeed very unfortunate for you.
The Doctor can fit you in next month sometime because one of his patients has just recently cancelled one of his appointments with him.
Otherwise, there is usually a six month waiting period for new patients.
On this special occasion we can grant you an early appointment in one month's time. It is only on special occasions that such an event is ever allowed to occur. The Doctor is always very busy, you know.”
She then handed me an appointment card which had a date written upon it.
“Thank you.” I said and I left the ophthalmologist’s consulting rooms and headed straight back for home.
The month went by very quickly and I distinctly remember that during the night before my very first visit with my ophthalmologist, I found that I could not sleep at all.
I tossed and turned all night long wondering what the ophthalmologist would look like.
Would the ophthalmologist turn out to be old and grey with glasses or would he be middle aged with a paunchy belly and a disagreeable outlook on life or would he be very young and good looking, together with a friendly disposition?
Only time would tell.
The day had finally arrived for my very first ever meeting with a real live ophthalmologist. This is where the story of HOW I DISCOVERED THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE KERATOCONUS FORMULA really begins because the account which has been rendered so far, can only be regarded by any fair-minded, lay observer as merely being a lengthy preamble.
5. THE ORIGINS OF MY KERATOCONUS FORMULA
The origins of my keratoconus formula can be traced back to a proper consideration of the testing procedure adopted by the ophthalmologist and his colleagues and this becomes significant in the scheme of things.
For the benefit of doubt, it is not suggested in any way, shape or form that the testing procedure adopted by the ophthalmologist and his colleagues is defective or deficient in any way for patients with normal eyes.
I still remember the day when I first met my ophthalmologist as though it were just yesterday.
TO BE CONTINUED................
Written by
The Eye Enigma
13 April 2025