Investigating the Recurrence Rate of Pterygium after Surgery Using Mitomycin C for 1 Minute and Free Conjunctival Graft

Background and Aim: Pterygium is a progressive fibrovascular lesion associated with a high recurrence rate following simple excision (24% to 89%). This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using 0.02% Mitomycin C for one minute combined with conjunctival autografting in reducing pterygium recurrence and assessing visual outcomes. Materials and Methods: This study included 60 patients with pterygium between 2017 and 2018. Surgical intervention involved pterygium excision followed by topical application of 0.02% Mitomycin C for one minute and conjunctival autografting. Patients were examined on post-operative days 1, 7, and 30, and were subsequently followed for 120 days. This study also evaluated recurrence rate, visual acuity, spherical equivalent, and astigmatism.

Results

No recurrence was observed during the follow-up visits until 90 days post-operation. At the 120-day examination, 3.3% had developed a recurrence. The mean baseline visual acuity was 0.51 ± 0.24, which improved significantly to 0.72 ± 0.21 at the 120-day follow-up (P<0.001). The spherical equivalent improved by 0.65 to 1.15 diopters post-operatively (P<0.001). The mean baseline astigmatism was -3.3 ± 2.7 diopters, which decreased to -1.6 ± 1.9 diopters one month after surgery (P<0.001) and further to -1.2 ± 1.8 diopters at four months (P<0.001). The mean increase in intraocular pressure was 0.5 to 0.6 mmHg, which remained within the normal range.