Pterygium

A pterygium may be mild and largely asymptomatic in the early stages. With slow progression, it may cause symptoms such as: eye irritation, redness, watery eye, foreign body sensation, undesirable appearance of the eye, and blurred vision (astigmatism).

If the growth becomes large enough, it can cause permanent vision loss and corneal scarring.

Pterygium occurs more commonly in people who spend time outdoors with frequent or excessive sun (ultraviolet light) exposure. People who spend considerable time in the sun such as farmers, fishermen, surfers and people living near the equator are more likely to develop pterygium. Australia has one of the highest incidence of pterygium in the world.

Definitive treatment for pterygium is surgical excision, which can be performed as an outpatient procedure. The latest advancement in pterygium surgery is “Sutureless Pterygium Excision and Conjunctival Autograft”, which allows a more rapid and comfortable recovery.

During the procedure:

• The pterygium is excised and removed from the eye.
• The gap in the conjunctiva left by the removal of the pterygium is filled with a conjunctival tissue graft. The graft is held in place with a special glue, avoiding the need for sutures.
• This graft acts as a barrier to recurrence, however there is still a 5% chance of recurrence despite a perfect graft placement.

Following surgery:

• You may have soreness and irritation in your eye for the first 24 hours
• You will need to use eye drops for several months
• You may have redness of the eye which usually resolves over a few weeks
• You can return to your normal activities within 1 or 2 weeks after surgery

In order to reduce the risk of recurrence, you will need to wear sunglasses all the time when you are outdoors.