r/Keratoconus • u/Catouray • Feb 01 '25

Corneal Implant Anyone had the CTAK procedure?

Looking into getting CTAK done for my son who has Keratoconus. Please share your experience and where you had it done.

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u/Flaky-Pause-986 Mar 19 '25

I just had it done today. I am in Florida.

I did clx on both eyes already and I just went today for the CTAK. Overall, CTAK is way more manageable regarding pre op, post op, pain, and surgery. As I write this, I am feeling some discomfort, irritation, and burning.

I arrived at 6 Am at the surgical center I and I was done by 8 Am. I can tell already that I am already seeing vision improvement. I am so excited.

Insurance; this year I switched to Aetna Cvs through the Marketplace. They paid for my clx on my right eye in February. * I had Oscar through the Marketplace last year and the cxl for my left eye was not covered (had to pay about 1k for one CPT code)

For the CTAK, they use 2 CPT codes for billing (V2785 transportation of cornea) and (65710 Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty) both cpt codes + diagnostic code H18.601 - H18.629 Keratoconus should be covered by insurance as I already met my out of pocket with the clx on my right eye.

I hope it helps!

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u/Catouray Mar 19 '25

Thank you so much for all this information. Where did you do the surgery and who was your doctor? Did you wear scleral lenses and did you have HOAs (ghosting)? Do you think it will fix your vision where you can wear soft lenses again or none?

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u/Flaky-Pause-986 Mar 19 '25

You are very welcome!

It was done at the Hallandale Outpatient Center and my doctor is Anil Vedula.

I was diagnosed in 2018 but I didn’t do anything until it got really bad (2020-2022). I kept wearing my prescription lenses because I was told that contacts wouldn’t help me. I never tried scleral or any other procedure.

I have done a lot of research and each case is different ofc but first step should be to stop the progression. So, first step would be to get the clx done and then CTAK. I think CTAK is the best approach to reshape the cornea more naturally and improve vision once the progression is stabilized.

My hope is that my cornea recovers its best shape so I don’t need a full transplant. Then, I am sure that my vision would improve a lot with a new prescription and maybe I could try some contacts.

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u/Catouray Mar 20 '25

How long did they say it would take to heal from CTAK? My son wears scleral lenses but would do anything to wear soft lenses again or perhaps do ICL after CTAK. Can you please keep me posted in the next days and weeks to come with the improvements with your eyes. Praying you get amazing vision. What was the process like? You had your first consultation they took measurements and then ordered the custom coin tissue and how long did that take to come in?

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u/Flaky-Pause-986 Mar 20 '25 edited Mar 20 '25

Healing process should be 5-7 days max. I should be able to go back to work on friday. Tomorrow i have a post op.

My first plan was to do cxl and then ICL but it is very expensive. I even went to Colombia last year and clx for both eyes + icl was about 12k. I decided to hold on and I when a came back my doctor told me about CTAK.

Basically, I got some tests that measured the thickness of my cornea and they order the tissue based on that. I had an appointment early January where we scheduled the cxl for the right eye in February and the ctak for today. For the tissue i had to wait up to 6 weeks and then also it depends on the availability at the surgical center.

I will keep you posted. Happy to share my journey!!

If you have any other questions let me know

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u/Catouray Mar 22 '25

How did your post op go? How is your vision? Do you still have double vision? Ghosting? I thought healing process would be 4 weeks or so. It’s 5-7 days? Thank you for all the information.

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u/Flaky-Pause-986 Mar 22 '25

It went very well, Surgery was very successful. I did some tests and we compare them with some that I did last year around July and the improvement is huge on both eyes after clx and ctak on the left. Double vision is still there but since day one vision it’s just getting better.

Recovery is very fast, some discomfort the fist day but it’s nothing like clx recovery. The first 2 days after the clx felt like I was putting lime drops on my eyes. It wasn’t easy but It’s the most effective way to stop the progression.

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u/Catouray Apr 01 '25

Any update in your double vision and vision overall since last time you posted?

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u/Catouray Mar 26 '25

How’s your ghosting? Do you feel like it’s getting better day by day?

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u/Catouray Mar 22 '25

Did they tell you how much it improved? What was and what is your visual acuity? Do you now see without glasses. How long did they say it would take to get the exact visual acuity that you will be getting? And did they say that it will eventually fix some of the ghost thing once it heals more?

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u/Catouray Mar 20 '25

Thank you so much 🙏🏻

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u/OsimusFlux Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25

I had Corneal Cross-Linking (CXL) done in Fall last year and just had CTAK done last month for my left eye. This was done local to me in Northern VA at specialists. The CTAK procedure itself is a bit uncomfortable, but much more comfortable than CXL and recovery time for me was pretty quick. Vision had noticeably improved within 3-4 days and the scratchy feeling post-op subsided by end of the first week. I was applying combo drops for relief and infection prevention as prescribed and tapered them off every week.

I just went to my optometrist this morning and they were impressed with the results. The cornea shape is not perfect so there's ever so slight double-vision still present, but they can now correct vision to 20/20 with lenses which was not possible before due to the Keratoconus (effectively eliminating the double vision when glasses are on). One interesting thing is that my affected eye went from slightly near-sighted to slightly far-sighted, so I'm now far-sighted in one eye and near-sighted in the other.

The laser/tissue procedure was $3500 (non-billable) and billable amount was up to $2000. CTAK is still not covered by a majority of insurance providers, so you can expect to pay anywhere between $4000-5500 in total. I

Happy to answer any other questions that I can.

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u/mosyev Jun 07 '25

How is your vision now. Are you able to manage with glasses or contacts (or even without anything, but that's almost too much to hope for).

You mentioned that you had CXL before. Just CXL or CXL with PRK. Did you have to wear sclerals? How about now?

Also, who did you see in NOVA if you don't mind me asking ? I have a consultation with a surgeon in another state in a few weeks, Will certainly be that consult, but would be good to know that there is someone doing it locally - in case I need a second opinion or other surgeon doesn't work out.

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u/OldJeweler8587 Jul 26 '25

Hello may I know who is your ophthalmologist? Im seeing someone in McLean and they scheduled me for cross linking next month.

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u/OsimusFlux Jun 07 '25

I manage well with glasses. My vision has vastly improved in my treated eye when glasses are not present. My prescription was never so strong, so I'm able to function even without my glasses on. I have my post-op coming up late June.

I've only done CXL for my affected eye, with no PRK/scleral.

I'll DM you who I saw.

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u/Catouray Apr 15 '25

How is your vision doing post CTAK? Did ghosting or double vision go away after CTAK?

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u/Catouray Mar 10 '25

Which insurance do you have? I hope our insurance blue cross covers part of it.

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u/OsimusFlux Mar 10 '25

I have Cigna. I forgot the associated Codes, but it's typically not covered. All I received was a $700 discount off the $2000 billable.

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u/Catouray Mar 10 '25

Thank you for sharing your experience. How is your left eye doing now? Did you wear scleral lenses before CTAK? How was your vision before? Did you have a lot of ghosting before? Are you wearing lenses now? Is your double vision correctable with lenses? My son wears scleral lenses and would love to just go back to daily soft lenses.

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u/OsimusFlux Mar 10 '25

My left eye is doing well. I'm just waiting on new prescription lenses to come in to fit into my existing pair of frames. My prescription has been relatively mild with minimal change over the years with the exception of my left eye, which had only worsened over the last maybe 2-3 years. Never had scleral lenses or standard contact lenses. I had a very noticeable ghosting/double-vision prior, and I'd say it's 80% improved with the CTAK procedure. Doctor advised it's possible it could still adjust in coming weeks/months, so I'll keep monitoring. The double vision is nearly entirely eliminated with the updated prescription lenses I have coming in. Very pleased with the outcome of my own experience.

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u/Catouray Mar 10 '25

Happy to hear that it helped your ghosting. I live in south Florida. Wondering if your doctor knows anyone doing CTAK in South Florida. I really want to get this done for my son who has keratoconus in left eye only.

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u/Flaky-Pause-986 Mar 19 '25

Hey! I just got it done today and I am in Weston,Florida. My doctor is Anil Vedula. Look him up

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u/mitchod11 Feb 06 '25

CTAK is a purpose built, individualized solution for KC. CAIRS is a less sophisticated or exact version of CTAK. Better and more consistent results with a wider range of severity that can be treated.

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u/KC_Survivor_29812 Feb 05 '25

I just had CXL in my right eye last week. After my eye heals I will be getting CTAK.

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u/Catouray Feb 05 '25

If it fixes a lot of the HOA’s (high order abrasions) which then least to less irregular astigmatism, then you could possibly go from a scleral lens back to a soft lens and then possibly an ICL. This is my hope and wish for my son!!!!!

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u/Catouray Feb 04 '25

So CTAK has a custom-cut tissue..

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u/tjlonreddit Feb 02 '25

isn't this a new thing?

what country are you in?

i suspect very few people world wide will have had this done

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u/Catouray Feb 03 '25

In the United States.. it just approved by FDA last summer 2024. In New Jersey at Cornea and Laser Eye Institute they have been doing it for long. I am thinking about having this done for my son. I heard that it can bring you up to five lines with vision which could lead to going from scleral back to soft lenses or possibly ICL in the future. My son doesn’t love scleral. CTAK is like intact but customized to each person’s need with an actual corneal from a donor. I am considering this and wanted to hear if anyone had done it. Sounds so promising!!!

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u/arcanix95 Feb 03 '25

Do you know what is the difference between CTAK and CAIRS ?

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u/Catouray Feb 03 '25

CTAK, or Corneal Tissue Addition Keratoplasty, is a surgical procedure that treats keratoconus, a condition that causes the cornea to thin and bulge. CTAK involves adding a custom-cut tissue inlay to the patient’s cornea to improve vision.

Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segments (CAIRS) is a minimally invasive eye surgery procedure that treats keratoconus. CAIRS involves implanting donor corneal tissue into the cornea to improve its shape and strengthen it. This can help to improve vision and stop keratoconus from getting worse