Young patient's age determines pterygium recurrence after surgery

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Outcomes
• Ocular Surface Disease

Background:

• Pterygium recurrence after surgical excision remains a clinical challenge.
• Predictors of pterygium recurrence, including patient demographics and pterygium characteristics, require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate demographic factors, pterygium characteristics, and limbal stem cell deficiency as determinants of pterygium recurrence post-excision.
• To compare recurrence rates between free conjunctival autotransplant (CAT) and limbal conjunctival autotransplant (LCAT) techniques.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 190 patients undergoing pterygium surgery were followed for 6 months.
• Data collected included patient age, gender, occupation, pterygium grade, and surgical technique (CAT or LCAT).
• Multivariate analysis identified predictors of recurrence, and recurrence rates were compared between surgical groups.

Main Results:

• Pterygium recurred in 27.4% of patients.
• Younger age (<50 years) showed a trend towards increased recurrence (OR=1.54, p=0.28).
• Large pre-operative pterygia (grade ≥3) were significantly associated with a lower risk of recurrence (OR=0.11, p<0.001). Recurrence rates were similar between CAT (28.7%) and LCAT (25.8%) groups (p=0.66).

Conclusions:

• Younger patient age is associated with a higher likelihood of pterygium recurrence following surgical excision and grafting.
• Pre-existing large pterygia appear to have a protective effect against post-operative recurrence.
• The surgical technique (CAT vs. LCAT) did not significantly influence recurrence rates in this study.