The efficiency of limbal conjunctival autografting in pterygium surgery.

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficiency of limbal conjunctival autografting technique in pterygium surgery.

METHODS

Eighty-four eyes of 68 patients with pterygium were treated by simple excision technique and 29 eyes of 24 patients with pterygium were treated by limbal conjunctival autografting technique. The definition of recurrence was fibrovascular tissue over the limbus onto the cornea in the area of previous pterygium excision.

RESULTS

The ages of the patients were between 25 and 88. The follow-up periods ranged from 6 to 25 months. The patients treated by simple excision technique were followed up for 6 to 25 (average 15+/-6) months and the patients treated by limbal conjunctival auto-grafting technique were followed up for 7 to 24 (average 17+/-5) months. The recurrence rates were 27% (23 eyes) and 7% (2 eyes), respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in the recurrence rate between the patients who underwent simple excision and those who underwent limbal conjunctival autografting (p=0.016).

CONCLUSIONS

Limbal conjunctival autografting is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of pterygium. It has a low recurrence rate when compared with the simple excision technique.