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Sequential pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft in the management of primary double-headed pterygia
Sonia N Yeung1, Darya Rubenstein, Aryeh J Price
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.; Department of Ophthalmology, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of sequential pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft (PECA) in the management of double-headed pterygia.
Methods:
All patients who underwent a sequential PECA procedure for double-headed pterygia from 2004 to 2009 were included in this retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. The recurrence rate and visual outcomes after this procedure were determined.
Results:
Nine eyes of 8 patients with doubled-headed pterygia undergoing sequential PECA were identified. Of 18 PECA procedures, 1 recurrence (5.56%) was found. The single recurrence was observed nasally in the right eye (first site operated) of a female patient 55 months after the second PECA procedure. None of the operated eyes lost any lines of corrected distance visual acuity, and 22% gained at least 1 line of corrected distance visual acuity.
Conclusions:
In this series, harvesting the conjunctival autograft from the same site several months later does not appear to increase the rate of recurrence. Sequential PECA is a safe and effective method of addressing double-headed pterygia.
