Decision making in pterygium surgery: Our experience noting the length of pterygium

Abstract

Background: This is a prospective study which aims: To compare the preoperative and postoperative corneal astigmatism in patients undergoing pterygium excision by conjunctival autograft technique using autologous blood. To determine the correlation of pterygium length with preoperative and postoperative corneal astigmatism and thus ascertain an early indication for pterygium surgery. Materials and methods: 75 patients with primary pterygia were evaluated after dividing them into three groups based on length, Grade A - 4mm. Preoperative and postoperative corneal astigmatism were compared between the three groups using autorefraction and keratometer readings. Postoperative astigmatism was recorded on three visits – day 7, day 28 and third month. Statistical analysis: Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 for windows was used. Spearman's rank order (χ) was calculated to observe correlation of pterygium length with the preoperative and postoperative corneal astigmatism. A p-value 2mm is an early indication for surgical intervention.

Keywords

• conjunctival autograft
• corneal astigmatism
• keratometry
• pterygium