Limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation for recurrent pterygium

Abstract:

AIM:To investigate the efficiency of limbal conjunctival autografting technique in recurrent pterygium. METHODS: Forty-four eyes of 34 patients with recurrent pterygium were treated by limbal conjunctival autografting technique and 37 eyes of 32 patients with recurrent pterygium were treated by transplantation of conjunctival pedicle flap. Recurrence was defined as fibrovascular tissue crossing the corneoscleral limbus onto clear cornea in the area of previous pterygium excision. RESULTS: The follow-up periods ranged from 12 to 24 months. All 66 patients (81 eyes) were involved in the result analysis .In the therapeutic group, the cure rate was 98% and the recurrence rate was 2%, but in the control group the cure rate was 84% and the recurrence rate was 16%.There was a statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate between the patients who underwent limbal conjunctival autografting and those who underwent transplantation of conjunctival pedicle flap (χ2=4.62,P<0.05). In addition, no significant complications were noted. CONCLUSION: Limbal conjunctival autografting is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of recurrent pterygium. It has a low recurrence rate when compared with the transplantation of conjunctival pedicle flap technique.

Key words:pterygium;stem cell of limbal cornea;transplantation