Br J Ophthalmol 2000;84:973-978
( September )
Amniotic membrane graft for primary pterygium: comparison with
conjunctival autograft and topical mitomycin C treatment
David Hui-Kang Maa, Lai-Chu Seeb, Su-Bin Liaua, Ray Jui-Fang Tsaia
a Department
of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, b Department of Public Health, College of
Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Correspondence to: Ray Jui-Fang Tsai, 2F 350 Section 4 Cheng Kung Road, Taipei, Taiwan,
114 raytsai{at}ms4.hinet.net
Accepted for publication 18 April 2000
AIM
To study the
efficacy and safety of amniotic membrane graft as an adjunctive therapy
after removal of primary pterygium, and to compare the clinical outcome
with conjunctival autograft and topical mitomycin C.
METHODS80 eyes of 71 patients with primary pterygia were treated with excision followed by
amniotic membrane graft. The result was compared retrospectively with
56 eyes of 50 patients receiving conjunctival autograft, and 54 eyes of
46 patients receiving topical mitomycin C. Patients were followed for
at least 6 months, and the averaged follow up periods for the three
groups were 13.8, 22.8, and 18.4 months, respectively.
RESULTSThere were
three recurrences (3.8%) in the amniotic membrane graft group, three
recurrences (5.4%) in the conjunctival autograft group, and two
recurrences (3.7%) in the topical mitomycin C group. There was no
significant difference in recurrence rate among the three groups (p = 0.879). No major complications occurred in the amniotic membrane graft
group or the conjunctival autograft group. One case of infectious
scleritis due to scleral ischaemia occurred in the topical mitomycin C group.
CONCLUSIONThis study
showed that amniotic membrane graft was as effective as conjunctival
autograft and mitomycin C in preventing pterygium recurrence, and can
be considered as a preferred grafting procedure for primary pterygium.
© 2000 by British Journal of Ophthalmology
