Comparison of Complications and Recurrence between Two Different Surgical Methods with Mitomycin C for Pterygium Removal

To compare recurrence rates and complications of 2 surgical methods for primary pterygium excision: subconjunctival injection of mitomycin C (MMC) 1 month before bare scleral excision and conjunctival rotational flap with intraoperative MMC application. Eighty-two eyes of 82 patients participated in the study and were allocated randomly into two groups. Group A received subconjunctival injection of MMC 1 month before bare scleral excision, and group B underwent conjunctival rotational flap with intraoperative MMC application for 2 minutes. Exclusion criteria consisted of pregnancy and lactation, history of ocular surgery,glaucoma, herpetic keratitis, trachoma and any autoimmune disease. The main outcome measure was recurrence and complications rate in each group. Mean age of the patients was 48.48± 13.67 years and 51.1% of cases were female. Follow up visits were performed at 1,3,6,9 and 12 months after the operation. Two cases of clinical recurrence occurred in group B (4.3%). However there was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of recurrence rate (P=0.31). Subconjunctival injection of MMC 1 month before bare scleral excision is a quick, easy, and safe surgical procedure for pterygium excision and is at least as effective as conjunctival rotational flap with intraoperative MMC application.