PTERYGIUM TREATMENT

Pterygium Assessment

Your ophthalmic surgeon will perform a comprehensive eye examination in order to diagnose and assess the severity of the Pterygium.

Your treatment depends on the size and extent of the Pterygium.

When there is a rapid growth of the Pterygium or where vision is threatened, your ophthalmologist may recommend surgical removal of the tissue.

What is the Best Treatment for Pterygium?

A Pterygium typically starts growing near the corner of the eye. It often extends onto the cornea, towards the pupil. Both eyes can be affected. A Pterygium may grow large enough to interfere with sight and can cause other visual symptoms.

Reasons for Surgical Removal

Pterygium is a condition that can:

Affect your normal vision
Cause irritation, tearing and discomfort
Develop or increase a patient's astigmatic error
Cause redness in appearance
Contact lens interference

What is involved with Pterygium Surgery?

The latest advancement in Pterygium surgery is “Sutureless (No-stitch) Pterygium Surgery and Conjunctival Autograft”. This technique is similar to the traditional approach except no stitches are used to hold the autograft in place.

Instead, modern tissue adhesives made of human clotting proteins are used. The adhesives dissolve in a week with no residues and promote faster recovery. This method is considered to be very safe.

Sutureless Pterygium Excision and Conjunctival Autograft Surgery

During this procedure:

The Pterygium is excised,
The gap in the conjunctiva left by the removal of the Pterygium is filled with a conjunctival tissue graft (transplant from the conjunctiva underneath the upper eyelid).
This graft is held in place with the use of a special glue or with fine sutures
The purpose of an autograft is to cover the bare area and the graft acts as a barrier to recurrence, however, there is still a 5% chance of recurrence despite a perfect graft placement.