Abstract
Purpose :
Surgery remains the only treatment option for pterygium; however, the recurrence rate remains high ranging from 8-80%. Moreover, there is no available treatment to arrest recurrence. We aim to assess the efficacy of subconjunctival ranibizumab in pterygium recurrence
Methods :
: All patients with early pterygium recurrence treated with ranibizumab from April 2021 to June 2023 were included. Subconjunctival ranibizumab 0.5 mg/0.05 mL was administered adjacent to the abnormal vessels. Additional injections and ranibizumab 0.05% eyedrops were prescribed upon clinical evolution and availability. Failure was defined as any advance in corneal neovascularization resulting in full recurrence after the injection.
Results :
: Nine patients were included, 6 males and 3 females with a mean age of 49 + 10.4 years at surgery. Three (33.3%) cases had been previously resected at least once and in the remaining six (66.6%) this was the first surgery. The median time to recurrence was 12 weeks (range 3-25 weeks) and the median follow-up after injection was 68 weeks (range 27-211). Patients received a median of 2 injections (range 1-5) and only one was treated with eyedrops of diluted ranibizumab. Treatment failed in three patients (33.3%), two of them had a history of at least two pterygium surgeries with the use of adjuvant Mitomycin-C in the latest procedure. The growing vessels in the remaining six (66.6%) patients remained stable or disappeared after the injection. No adverse events were reported.
Conclusions :
Subconjunctival ranibizumab represents a promising alternative to halt early primary pterygium recurrence. A higher incidence of failure might be associated with second-time recurrent pterygiums and prior procedures using Mitomycin-C. Further studies are warranted to understand the best therapeutic scheme and proper timing of injections.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.