Comparison of Conjunctival Autograft and Primary Excision for The Surgical Treatment of Primary Pterygium

Abstract

INTRODUCTION[|]This study is an evaluation of the postoperative results of the conjunctival autograft (CA) and primary excision (PE) surgical techniques.[¤]METHODS[|]Primary pterygium patients who underwent PE surgery and free limbal CA surgery were compared retrospectively in terms of age, gender, pterygium type, the presence of recurrence, recurrence time, and recurrence time (months). A total of 94 cases of primary pterygium were investigated: In all, 40 were treated with PE and 54 with CA.[¤]RESULTS[|]In the PE group, recurrence was detected in 9 of 40 patients (22.5%), while it was seen in 2 of 54 patients (3.7%) in the CA group. The recurrence rate in the PE group was statistically significantly greater than that of the CA group (p=0.005). When we assessed survival time (months) without recurrence, it was statistically significant that the length of time before recurrence was longer in the CA group than in the PE group (16.55+-7.95 months, 20.33+-5.12 months, respectively; p=0.01).[¤]DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION[|]CA is an effective and reliable method of primary pterygium surgery. We do not recommend the CA technique in filtration surgery candidates.[¤]

Keywords

• conjunctival autograft; primary excision; pterygium.