Abstract
Purpose: :
To compare the long term clinical outcome in surgically treated pterygium patients with amniotic membrane transplantation versus conjunctival limbal autograft.
Methods: :
80 cases of pterygium larger than 2mm into the cornea in patients older than 40 years were surgically excised and received either amniotic membrane transplantation or conjunctival limbal autograft. Mean follow-up period was 24 ± 4.6 months, and all patients were examined for recurrence, which was graded from G0(no vessel) to G3(fibrotic tissue invading the limbus).
Results: :
27 out of 30 cases in conjunctival limbal autograft group showed no recurrence(grade 0), and 1 case of grade 2 recurrence and 2 cases of grade 3 were observed. On the contrary, 35 out of 50 cases in amniotic membrane transplantation group showed no recurrence(grade 0), and 7 cases of grade 2 recurrence and 8 cases of grade 3 recurrence were observed. Furthermore, epithelial healing is more delayed in amniotic membrane transplantation group.
Conclusions: :
This study showed that conjunctival limbal autograft has a lower recurrence rate than amniotic membrane transplantation for 24 months of mean follow up period. We also found that amniotic membrane transplantation alone is not sufficient to reduce the recurrence of pterygium. Conjunctival limbal autograft is a more effective and safe technique that does not cause serious postoperative complications.
Keywords: pterygium • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications • cornea: clinical science