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Combination surgery may be option for recurrent pterygium
Am J Ophthalmol. 2011;152(5):730-732.
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Results of a retrospective, interventional case series showed that use of intraoperative mitomycin C and conjunctival autograft with fibrin glue is a viable surgical option for the treatment of recurrent pterygium.
Researchers reviewed medical charts of 28 patients with recurrent pterygium who had undergone pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft with fibrin glue to secure the graft. This was combined with intraoperative mitomycin C.
Mean patient age was 49.7 years; inclusion criteria were recurrent pterygium with at least one previous surgical excision and completion of a regular postoperative follow-up by 1 year.
Results showed no intraoperative complications associated with the management of recurrent pterygium when using this surgical option. One eye developed early postoperative total graft dehiscence that needed repositioning with glue and sutures. Another eye experienced mild graft dehiscence that did not require surgical intervention, and a third eye experienced conjunctival cyst on the graft, which also did not require intervention.
There were no significant changes in best corrected visual acuity. The researchers said recurrence occurred in one patient at a mean of 26.5 months after surgery.
While the researchers said that "pterygium excision and conjunctival autograft using fibrin glue to secure the graft combined with intraoperative mitomycin C seems to be a safe and effective surgical option for treating recurrent pterygium," they added that a longer follow-up study incorporating a larger cohort may be required to assess the technique's recurrence rate.