Effects of Preoperative Versus Intraoperative Application of Mitomycin C on the Outcome of Pterygium Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: The use of mitomycin C (MMC) has been recommended to reduce postoperative recurrence in patients undergoing pterygium surgery. However, the outcomes with preoperative (PO) and intraoperative (IO) application of mitomycin C have not been adequately compared. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate PO MMC versus IO MMC in terms of recurrence and complications for pterygium treatment. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched with the keywords “pterygium,” “mitomycin,” and “preoperative” and “intraoperative.” Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing PO MMC with IO MMC in pterygium surgery were included. A risk of bias tool was used to perform qualitative assessments. Outcome measurements were recurrence and complications of the ocular surface. Review Manager 5.3 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Five RCTs with 390 participants (390 eyes) showing primary or recurrent pterygium were included. Recurrence of pterygium with PO MMC was similar to that with IO MMC (RR = 1.04, 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.76, P = 0.89). There was no significant difference between the two treatments (PO MMC vs. IO MMC) with respect to complications of the ocular surface, including conjunctival complications (RR = 1.04; 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.76; P = 0.89), scleral complications (RR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.14 to 3.73; P = 0.70), and corneal complications (RR = 1.33; 95% CI, 0.32 to 5.48; P = 0.70). Conclusion: PO MMC was as efficient as IO MMC in controlling the recurrence and complications in pterygium surgery.