Thiotepa eyedrops to prevent pterygium recurrences. 18 years of utilization

Purpose: To analyze effectiveness and side effects of thiotepa eyedrops uti lized to prevent postoperative pterygium recurrence, with a retrospective s tudy allowing a long follow-up. Methods: This work deals with 64 cases of pterygium, among them 8 were recu rrent. Only growing or very important pterygiums were operated on (14 cases were reaching the pupillary area). Surgical techniques were simple ones (a lmost always excision with simple conjonctival closure or translation of co njunctival flaps, no corneal grafts). Following surgery, patients received thiotepa eyedrops (dilution: 1/2000), four times a day, during 6 to 8 weeks . Results: Tolerance of treatment was good on the whole, and there was no imp ortant complications. There were only 2 cases of recurrence (3%). Conclusion: Thiotepa was effective and allowed us to avoid using complex su rgical techniques to prevent recurrence (especially corneal grafts), even i n recurrent pterygiums or pterygiums reaching the pupillary area.