a comparative study on surgical outcomes in primary pterygium excision using argon laser therapy versus bare sclera technique: a randomized prospective trial

Objective: the frequency of recurrence is a critical factor in the utilization of different treatments for pterygium. the present study was undertaken to compare the pterygium recurrence rates after bare sclera excision with that of argon laser therapy. methods: sixty eyes of 53 patients with primary pterygium were included in this prospective, interventional case series. the participants were randomly categorized into 2 groups each consisting of 30 subjects. in the first group, pterygium excision was performed using bare sclera technique whereas the second group received argon laser therapy alone. the patients were examined for pterygium recurrence and complications at postoperative 1 and 7 days as well as in months 1, 3, and 6 after the operation. all analyses were performed using spss software (version 17.0) and p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. results: pterygia recurred in 7 eyes (23.3 %) in the first group (i.e. bare sclera group) and in 4 eyes (13.3 %) in the second group (i.e. argon laser therapy group). the recurrence rate was not significantly different between the two groups. no ocular or systemic complication developed till the end of follow-up.conclusion:  argon laser photocoagulation of pterygium may be more favorable for patients with coagulopathy or a history of conjunctival surgery. the coagulation effect of the argon laser may prevent severe conjunctival bleeding, which may occur after surgical excision in patients with coagulopathy.