Spontaneous breakage of intracorneal ring segments (ICRS) 8 years after implantation

We present a case of spontaneous in situ breakage of intracorneal ring segments (ICRSs) 8 years after their implantation in a patient with keratoconus. The patient presented to our clinic with a red and painful right eye that had not improved despite topical steroids and antibiotics. The decision was made to explant the broken ICRSs from the cornea and send them for laboratory analyses, by which manufacturer defects were excluded. It is noteworthy that corneal curvature re-steepening was observed 4 months after ICRS removal despite the performance of crosslinking (CXL) 1 year prior to ICRS implantation.