Addition of MMC to rotational autograft for pterygium reduces recurrence

Cornea. 2009;28(2):166-169.

Intraoperative use of mitomycin C during conjunctival rotational autograft for primary pterygium lowered recurrence rates, although sustained graft injection remains a concern after surgery, according to a study.

In 67 eyes of 67 patients followed prospectively in an interventional case series, there were two recurrences of pterygium after rotational autograft was performed with intraoperative MMC. The recurrence rate was significantly lower than found in historical controls in which MMC alone was used, and results were comparable although not significantly different from limbal-conjunctival autografts, according to the study.

At 1 month after surgery, 96.3% of grafts were injected, but the percentage dropped over time, and at 12 months, 61% of grafts were still injected. Almost 47% had significant pigmentation at 1 year.

Clinical perception of injection differed, however, from patient self-report. After 1 year, more than 90% of patients thought their eyes were either white or only mildly injected, and 80% reported satisfaction with the appearance of the eye compared with before surgery.