Surgical result of pterygium extended removal followed by fibrin glue-assisted amniotic membrane transplantation

Background/Purpose To report the recurrence rate and cosmetic results of conjunctival wound edge and caruncle, and complications after pterygium extended removal followed by fibrin glue-assisted amniotic membrane transplantation. Methods A prospective interventional cohort study enrolled 57 (58 eyes) patients undergoing pterygium extended removal followed by fibrin glue-assisted amniotic membrane transplantation. All patients received postoperative follow-up for at least 12 months. Recurrence rate was graded from 1 to 4, and cosmetic results of conjunctival edge and caruncle were graded from 1 to 5. Results The cohort included 48 eyes with nasal pterygium, 5 eyes with temporal pterygium, and 5 eyes with double pterygium. There were 81.0% (n = 47), 0% (n = 0), 12% (n = 7), and 7% (n = 4) of eyes with Grades 1–4 recurrence, respectively. The cosmetic results of conjunctival wound edge and caruncle in cases with nasal pterygium showed 59.3% (n = 32), 14.8% (n = 8), 9.3% (n = 5), 16.6% (n = 9), and 0% (n = 0) of eyes with Grades 1–5 morphology, respectively. Overall, 5.1% (n = 3), 3.4% (n = 2), 3.4% (n = 2), 3.4% (n = 2), 1.7% (n = 1), 6.9% (n = 4), and 1.7% (n = 1) of patients suffered from postoperative pyogenic granuloma, transient diplopia, permanent motility restriction, steroid glaucoma, fat prolapse, subamniotic membrane hemorrhage, and early detachment of amniotic membrane, respectively. Conclusion Pterygium extended removal followed by fibrin glue-assisted amniotic membrane transplantation results in low recurrence, satisfactory cosmetic results and a low incidence of additional complications.