Comparative Study on the Use of Conjunctival Autograft With or Without Mitomycin-C in Pterygium Surgery
Archimedes L.D. Agahan, MD, Pamela P. Astudillo, MD, Romeo C. Dela Cruz, OD, MD
Objective: To compare the recurrence rate after conjunctival autograft alone versus conjunctival autograft with mitomycin-C in the treatment of primary and recurrent pterygium.
Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, interventional comparative study of patients with primary and recurrent pterygium who were randomized to receive either simple excision with conjunctival autograft (CA) or simple excision with CA and mitomycin-C applied. They were followed up for 6 months and observed for recurrence of the pterygium. Statistical analyses were used to compare the 2 groups.
Results: Fifty-eight patients (62 eyes) diagnosed with primary and recurrent pterygium were evaluated. The mean age was 44.81 ± 12.35 years (range 25 to 70 years). Thirty eyes were treated with conjunctival autograft (15 primary, 15 recurrent) and 32 eyes (17 primary, 15 recurrent) with conjunctival autograft combined with intraoperative application of low-dose mitomycin-C (0.02% for 3 minutes). The mean follow-up period was 25 ± 1.40 months (range 24 to 28 months). There was a 3.22% recurrence rate (2 eyes) from the recurrent pterygium group. There was no significant difference in the rate of recurrence (p = 0.53) between the 2 treatments for both primary and recurrent pterygium. No mitomycin C-related complication was observed during the length of the study.
Conclusion: Conjunctival autograft surgery alone for primary and recurrent pterygium is effective and safe in reducing the recurrence rate of pterygium within 6 months.
Keywords: Pterygium, Recurrent pterygium, Mitomycin-C, Conjunctival autograft