Randomized trial of pterygium surgery with mitomycin C application using conjunctival autograft versus conjunctival-limbal autograft

Purpose: To compare the outcomes of free conjunctival autograft (CAU) versus conjunctivallimbal autograft (CLAU) in the prevention of recurrence after pterygium surgery with adjunctive mitomycin C application in patients with primary or recurrent pterygia. Design: Prospective, randomized study. Participants and Controls: Eighty-seven eyes of 86 patients with primary or recurrent nasal pterygia were included. Methods: All eyes underwent pterygium excision followed by removal of subconjunctival fibrovascular tissue and application of 0.02% mitomycin C for 3 minutes. The eyes then were assigned randomly to receive either CAU (44 eyes) or CLAU (43 eyes). Main Outcome Measures: Rate of conjunctival or corneal recurrence of pterygium after surgery. Results: A follow-up of at least 12 months (mean, 14±2.2 months) was achieved in 78 eyes of 78 patients, including 39 eyes in the CAU group (31 primary and 8 recurrent pterygia) and 39 eyes in the CLAU group (33 primary and 6 recurrent pterygia). After surgery, no eye in the CLAU group developed pterygium recurrence; however, recurrence was seen in 2 eyes (5.1%) in the CAU group, including 1 of 31 patients (3.2%) with primary pterygia and 1 of 8 patients (12.5%) with recurrent pterygia. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence rates between the 2 groups or in the primary and recurrent subgroups. In the CLAU group, a localized pannus formation at the donor site of the limbal graft was noted in 5 eyes (12.8%), with the appearance of pseudopterygium in 1 eye. Conclusions: There was no significant difference in recurrence rates of pterygium after surgery with mitomycin C application between the CAU and CLAU groups, more remarkably in primary cases. Limbal damage was seen in some eyes with CLAU. Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.