Assessment of Choroidal Vascularity and Thickness After Corneal Crosslinking Treatment in Keratoconus

Purpose The objective is to assess the choroidal vascular index (CVI) and choroidal thickness (CT) in individuals with keratoconus following corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) therapy. Methods Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients who underwent corneal crosslinking were included in the study. The EDI mode of optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to measure subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT prior to surgery, during the first week following surgery, and during the first month following surgery. Results Subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT increased dramatically in the first week as opposed to the time before surgery (p < 0.05). Although the nasal and temporal CT measured in the first month decreased significantly compared to the first week (p < 0.05), the decrease in the subfoveal region lacked statistical significance. (p = 0.35). When the subfoveal, nasal, and temporal CT measured at the first month were compared with the preoperative period, No discernible difference was found (p > 0.05). There was no significant change in terms of CVI, stromal area, luminal area, and total choroidal area before and after treatment (p > 0.05). Conclusion CT shows a transient increase during the first week following CXL, which regresses to baseline levels by the first postoperative month. Importantly, choroidal vascular structures including CVI, luminal and stromal components remain unaffected. These findings suggest that CXL induces a mild and reversible increase in CT without compromising choroidal vascular integrity in the early postoperative period.