Conjunctival Z-plasty for Pterygium: Comparison with Conjunctival Autografting

Pterygium is an abnormal overgrowth of the conjunctiva onto the cornea. Surgical management is the choice of treatment when persistent discomfort, visual distortion, and restricted ocular motility bothers patient’s life.1 Although an easy procedure, the main problem with the surgical excision of the pterygium is the recurrence rate, which can be as high as 30 to 82% (1-3). Recurrence is usually defined as the growth of fibrovascular tissue across the limbus onto the cornea in the area of previous pterygium excision. To reduce the recurrence rate, adjunctive therapy such as mitomycin-C, 5-fluorourasil, beta-irradiation, and thiothepa have been used after the pterygium excision with varying success (4-8). Although all of the adjunctive therapies mentioned above achieved a significantly CONJUNCTIVAL Z-PLASTY FOR PTERYGIUM: COMPARISON WITH CONJUNCTIVAL AUTOGRAFTING