A Comparative Study of Higher order Aberrations between Pterygium and Non-Pterygium Eyes

Pterygium may induce pressure and distortion on the corneal surface leading to ocular aberrations.

To evaluate higher order aberrations in pterygium eyes.

Thirty-two patients with unilateral primary pterygium were enrolled. Wavefront analysis technique was used to determine the higher order aberrations in pterygium eyes and normal fellow eyes in individuals. Higher order aberration values were compared between both eyes with paired t-test. Pearson correlation was used to assess the correlations of higher order aberration values with pterygium size.

Of the 32 patients, there were 15 males (47%) and 17 females (53%), mean age was 48.9±12.2 years. The average horizontal size of pterygium was 2.6+0.9 millimeters. For pterygium eyes, the mean of coma, trefoil, spherical aberration, and quadrafoil were 0.87±1.01, 1.45±1.55, 0.28±0.27, and 0.79±0.94 micrometers, respectively. And those of normal fellow eyes were 0.46±0.37, 0.80±0.71, 0.15±0.33, and 0.39±0.47 micrometers, respectively. Comparing between pterygium and contralateral normal eyes, a significant difference was present in all parameters (paired t-test, p<0.05). Coma, trefoil, and quadrafoil of pterygium eyes had a significant relationship with pterygium size (Pearson correlation, p<0.05) except for spherical aberration.

The findings suggest that higher order aberrations have a tendency to increase in pterygium eyes compared to contralateral normal eyes, and most have a correlation with pterygium size.