Measures for preventing recurrence after pterygium surgery.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Techniques
• Ocular Surface Disease

Background:

• Pterygium, a common ocular surface growth, often requires surgical intervention.
• Recurrence and postoperative complications are significant challenges in traditional pterygium surgery.
• Evaluating novel surgical techniques is crucial for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate an improved mini-flap surgical technique for pterygium.
• To compare the efficacy and safety of the mini-flap technique against two large-flap techniques.
• To assess recurrence rates and postoperative complications associated with each surgical method.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 216 eyes undergoing pterygium surgery using three techniques: large-flap technique I (no intraoperative mitomycin C), large-flap technique II (intraoperative mitomycin C), and the novel mini-flap technique (excision, scraping, mitomycin C, conjunctival transposition flap).
• Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate and compare 1-year recurrence rates.
• Incidence of conjunctival scarring and granuloma was also compared between groups.

Main Results:

• The mini-flap technique demonstrated a 0% recurrence rate at 1 year, significantly lower than large-flap technique I (15.5%) and large-flap technique II (4.2%).
• Both large-flap technique II and the mini-flap technique showed significantly lower recurrence rates compared to large-flap technique I.
• The mini-flap technique resulted in significantly fewer instances of conjunctival scarring or granuloma compared to both large-flap techniques.

Conclusions:

• The mini-flap technique is highly effective in preventing pterygium recurrence.
• This improved surgical method is technically simpler and leads to fewer postoperative complications.
• The mini-flap technique represents a valuable advancement for pterygium surgery.