Characteristics and Recurrence of Pterygium: A Single Center Study with a Long Follow-up

Abstract

Purpose : To describe the clinical features of patients with pterygium and analyze the recurrence rate of conjunctival autografting alone, conjunctival autografting combined with intraoperative mitomycin C, and amniotic membrane grafting.

Methods : A retrospective study of primary pterygium was conducted between January 2017 and February 2020. The number of patients who presented with pterygium was 292, while the number of operated cases was 94 (32.19%). The main outcome measured was recurrence over an average follow-up period of 29.3 ± 11.9 months.

Results : Pterygium involving the cornea was observed in 55% of the cases. In the multivariate regression analysis, female gender was the only independent risk factor for a pterygium to encroach on the cornea. The overall rate of recurrence for the three procedures was 17% over an average time of 14.19 ± 11.9 months, with 37% of the recurrences occurring after the first year. The only factor associated with a significant risk of recurrence was dry eye disease. The recurrence rates following conjunctival autografting with and without mitomycin C were 15.6% and 15.8%, respectively. The recurrence rate following the amniotic membrane graft was almost double (27%) that following the conjunctival autograft (15.6%); however, this difference was not statistically significant. For conjunctival autografts, adding fibrin glue to sutures did not result in a lower recurrence rate (p=0.747).

Conclusions : The only factor associated with the recurrence of pterygium was dry eye disease. More than one-third of recurrences developed after the first year, which stresses the importance of a long follow-up.

This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.