Comparative study of pterygium surgery

The aim of this study was the comparison of recurrence rates of pterygia following different surgical methods. Twenty-one patients were operated by the bare sclera technique, with the application of mitomycin C (0.25 mg/ml for 2 min). Twenty-seven patients were operated by limbal stem cell transplantation. The third group contained 13 patients who were operated by amniotic membrane transplantation. Five recurrences of pterygia were noted in the mitomycin C group and 2 each in the limbal stem cell transplantation group and the amniotic membrane group. The mean time to recurrence was 5.4 +/- 4.12 months in the mitomycin C group versus 10.5 +/- 3.5 months in the group of patients with limbal transplantation. In the third group, both recurrences were evident 4 months after the operation.