Amniotic Membrane Transplantation for Primary Pterygium Surgery

Purpose: to evaluate the outcomes of primary pterygium excision with adjunctive amnioticmembrane transplantation.methods: in an interventional case series, consecutive patients with primary pterygiaunderwent surgical excision with transplantation of preserved amniotic membrane ontobare sclera. patients were followed for at least 12 months and the results were evaluatedin terms of recurrent pterygium growth and complications.results: fifty eyes of 50 consecutive patients including 27 male and 23 female subjectswith mean age of 43.36±10.88 years were operated. the pterygia extended onto thecorneas for 4.69±1.2 (range 3 to 7) mm. only one eye (2%) demonstrated recurrent pterygiumgrowth which responded to subconjunctival mitomycin c injection. another eye(2%) developed amniotic membrane retraction which eventually required a secondtransplantation leading to complete resolution.conclusion: primary pterygium excision with amniotic membrane transplantation is asafe and effective surgical technique with low recurrence rate.