A 20-year-old's sight may have been saved after he became the 1,000th patient to receive a rare treatment.

Student Gyan Sooriyakhantha, of Harrow, became the 1,000th patient at Moorfields Eye Hospital, at Northwick Park, to receive corneal cross-linking treatment, or CXL, as part of its redesigned keratoconus service.

During a routine visit to his optician to get contact lenses, the biomedical student was told he suffered from a condition called keracotonus, which produces a cone-like bulge of the cornea that causes poor vision and sight loss.

He said: “I knew I had some problems in my left eye, some blurring of vision but it was a shock when the optician said it could be keratoconus.

“They told me they would contact my GP about a referral to Moorfields Eye Hospital.

“I was really worried when I went home and googling the condition made things much worse. It was scary." 

The 20-year-old was referred to Moorfields Eye Centre where keratoconus was diagnosed, and was then treated at the City Road Hospital in central London.

Mr Sooriyakhantha said: “The two guys who looked after me were exceptional. I was so nervous I was shaking but they were so good at making me feel relaxed.

“All the medical staff have been unbelievable. There are more appointments in six and 12 months but at the moment it’s good.

“It’s strange, I did get my contact lenses in the end but not in the way I imagined.”

Moorfields is the first London trust to offer NHS patients CXL, the first proven treatment to halt disease progression in keratoconus, with Gayan Sooriyakhantha becoming the hospital’s 1,000th patient.

Anne Klepacz, trustee of the UK Keratoconus Group, said: "We congratulate Moorfields on this achievement. CXL is a sight-saving treatment for young people with keratoconus, which sadly is only available on the NHS at a very few hospitals in the UK.

“The service that has been set up at Moorfields is therefore invaluable.”