<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Pterygium is an ocular disease characterised by the growth of fibrovascular conjunctiva on the cornea. It occurs more often in men, at an older age, and in individuals exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Surgical treatment is the primary treatment for pterygium and there are two common procedures for pterygium excision. In the first method, the head of the pterygium is separated from the corneal surface using a surgical blade. The second method is based on avulsion. Other approaches to excising the pterygium include the use of argon laser and excimer laser. Because of a high recurrence rate, adjuvant therapies, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and graft procedures, are used after pterygium excision. These procedures have become the standard long-term treatments for pterygium. Radiotherapy is based on beta irradiation. Chemotherapy includes the use of mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, bevacizumab, and loteprednol etabonate. Graft procedures include amniotic membrane grafts and conjunctival autografts. Many surgeons believe that using mitomycin C and conjunctival autografts provides the best outcomes in terms of recurrence, cosmetics and patient satisfaction.</p></abstract>

Pterygium is an ocular disease characterised by the growth of fibrovascular conjunctiva on the cornea. It occurs more often in men, at an older age, and in individuals exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Surgical treatment is the primary treatment for pterygium and there are two common procedures for pterygium excision. In the first method, the head of the pterygium is separated from the corneal surface using a surgical blade. The second method is based on avulsion. Other approaches to excising the pterygium include the use of argon laser and excimer laser. Because of a high recurrence rate, adjuvant therapies, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and graft procedures, are used after pterygium excision. These procedures have become the standard long-term treatments for pterygium. Radiotherapy is based on beta irradiation. Chemotherapy includes the use of mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, bevacizumab, and loteprednol etabonate. Graft procedures include amniotic membrane grafts and conjunctival autografts. Many surgeons believe that using mitomycin C and conjunctival autografts provides the best outcomes in terms of recurrence, cosmetics and patient satisfaction.

Updates on the Treatment of Pterygium

Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac,

Clinic of Ophthalmology, Clinical Center “Kragujevac”,

Experimental and Applied Biomedical Research (EABR)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Updates on the Treatment of Pterygium"}

Pterygium is an ocular disease characterised by the growth of fibrovascular conjunctiva on the cornea. It occurs more often in men, at an older age, and in...

Updates on the Treatment of Pterygium

Published Online: Sep 24, 2016

Page range: 257 - 262

Received: Oct 08, 2015

Accepted: Dec 07, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjecr-2016-0012

Keywords
pterygium, excision, adjuvant therapy, recurrence

© 2016 Dusan Todorovic et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Updates on the Treatment of Pterygium

Published Online: Sep 24, 2016

Page range: 257 - 262

Received: Oct 08, 2015

Accepted: Dec 07, 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjecr-2016-0012

Keywordspterygium, excision, adjuvant therapy, recurrence

© 2016 Dusan Todorovic et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
pterygium, excision, adjuvant therapy, recurrence