Effectiveness of conjunctival autograft transplantation in pterygium surgery

Introduction: Pterygium is a fibrovascular overgrowth of bulbar cunjonctiva over the cornea and may produce visual impairment. Many surgical technique s and adjunctive therapies have been proposed but recurrence remains freque nt. Materials and methods: We report a prospective study of 52 eyes treated by limbal conjunctival autograft for primary and recurrent pterygium. We compa re our results with the technique of simple excision performed in 111 cases of pterygium (3 being a recurrent pterygium). Results: The mean age of the patients was 45 years. 30 cases of pterygium w ere primary (57.7%) and 22 were recurrent (42.3%). After an average follow- up of 14 months, the incidence of recurrence was 10%. Only 2 of these recur rent cases of pterygium were primary. Discussion: Conjunctival autograft is a simple, safe, and highly effective procedure for the treatment of pterygium. It reduces the rate of recurrence more than simple excision (55.9% after a follow-up of 1 year). Conclusion: The introduction of limbal conjunctival autograft for the treat ment of pterygium meets three main goals: safety, good optical outcom and a lower rate of recurrence. This procedure could be accepted as a successful technique for cases with recurrent pterygium specially in younger patients and when the environment al factors lower the development of recurrent pte rygium.