The Effect of Limbal Autograft in Recurrence of Pterygium

Abstract

Background: Assessing the effect of limbal autograft shifting in recurrence of pterygium. Methods: This single-center study was carried out in a tertiary health facility. A review of data on consecutive patients who underwent pure limbal autografts shifting after pterygium resection was done. In all the cases, the pterygia extended at least 3 mm beyond the limbus. The resected each limbal grafts included a width of 1.5 mm and a length of 2 or 3 mm of limbus and a depth of 250 μm. Schmer test was performed at the eighth month postoperatively. Pterygium recurrence was accepted endpoint of the study. One patient had recurrent pterygium, whereas the others had primary pterygium. Patients with other ocular surface diseases or ocular pathology and, patients who discontinued follow-up visits were excluded from the study. Results: The study included 10 patients, with 5 males and 5 females. Median age of the patients was 40 (25 - 70). Follow-up was conducted for a minimum of 8 months for patients with recurrence and at least for 16 months for non-recurrent cases. Recurrence was observed in 6 patients out of 10, in one patient, atypia was reported and excluded from the study. Four recurrent patients experienced decreased levels of tears. The rest one patient with recurrence had not any tear abnormality. The remaining 4 patients responded well to the surgery. Because of the high recurrence rate, it was decided to terminate the study. Conclusions: Limbal autografts shifting alone is not an appropriate treatment for primary pterygium because of the high recurrence rate.