Abstract
Background
Treatment of eyes with multirecurrent pterygia associated with severe symblepharon and motility restriction is challenging. A combined surgical procedure of intraoperative mitomycin C, amniotic membrane transplantation and conjunctival limbal autograft was applied for treating such eyes.
Methods
Seven eyes of seven patients who had previously undergone an average of four operations for pterygial removal and who manifested recurrent pterygia associated with severe symblepharon and motility restriction were involved in this retrospective study. The surgical procedures involved clearing fibrovascular membrane over the cornea, extensive excision of epibulbar fibrovascular tissue to the bare sclera, application of 0.02% mytomycin C onto the bare sclera for 5 min and transplantation of preserved human amniotic membrane and conjunctival limbal autograft.
Results
Postoperatively, all seven eyes showed rapid epithelialization on the corneal surface in 3–5 days and, on the conjunctival surface, in 10–18 days. For a mean follow-up period of 22.4±6.1 months, six eyes recovered deep fornices, smooth and stable ocular surface and full ocular motility without recurrence. One eye showed regrowth of fibrovascular tissue and motility restriction but less severe than before surgery. No complication was noted due to mitomycin C.
Conclusions
Combined intraoperative mitomycin C, amniotic membrane graft and limbal conjunctival autograft are successful approaches for treating multirecurrent pterygia with severe symblepharon to restore the ocular surface integrity and prevent recurrence.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dougherty PJ, Hardten DR, Lindstrom RL (1996) Corneoscleral melt after pterygium surgery using a single intraoperative application of mitomycin-C. Cornea 15:537–540
Frucht-Pery J, Ilsar M, Hmo I (1994) Single dosage of mitomycin C for prevention of recurrent pterygium: preliminary report. Cornea 13:411–413
Güler M, Sobaci G, Ilker S et al (1994) Limbal-conjunctival autograft transplantation in cases with recurrent pterygium. Acta Ophthalmol 72:721–726
Hirst LW (2003) The treatment of pterygium. Surv Ophthalmol 48:145–180
Kenyon KR, Wagoner MD, Hettinger ME (1985) Conjunctival autograft transplantation for advanced and recurrent pterygium. Ophthalmology 92:1461–1470
Lam DSC, Wong AKK, Fan DSP et al (1998) Intraoperative mitomycin C to prevent recurrent of pterygium after excision. A 30-month follow-up study. Ophthalmology 105:901–905
Prabhasawat P, Barton K, Burkett G et al (1997) Comparison of conjunctival autograft, amniotic membrane grafts, and primary closure for pterygium excision. Ophthalmology 104:974–985
Safianik B, Ben-Zion I, Garzozi HJ (2002) Serious corneoscleral complications after pterygium excision with mitomycin C. Br J Ophthalmol 86:357–358
Sangwan VS, Murthy SI, Bansal A et al (2003) Surgical treatment of chronically recurring pterygium. Cornea 22:63–65
Shimazki J, Kosaka K, Shimmura S, Tsubota K (2003) Amniotic membrane transplantation with conjunctival autograft for recurrent pterygium. Ophthalmology 110:119–124
Shimazaki J, Shinozki N, Tsubota K (1998) Transplantation of amniotic membrane and limbal autograft for patients with recurrent pterygium associated with symblepharon. Br J Ophthalmol 82:235–240
Solomon A, Pires RTF, Tseng SCG (2001) Amniotic membrane transplantation after extensive removal of primary and recurrent pterygia. Ophthalmology 108:449–460
Tsai YY, Lin JM, Shy JD (2002) Acute scleral thinning after pterygium excision with intraoperative mitomycin C: a case report of scleral dellen after bare sclera technique and review of the literature. Cornea 21:227–229
Yamamoto T, Varai J, Soong HK et al (1990) Effects of 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C on cultured rabbit subconjunctival fibroblasts. Ophthalmology 97:1204–1210
Yao YF, Zhang B, Zhou P, Jiang JK (2002) Autologous limbal grafting combined with deep lamellar keratoplasty in unilateral eye with severe chemical or thermal burn at late stage. Ophthalmology 109:2011–2017
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
S.C.G.T. and his family are more than 5% shareholders of TissueTech, Inc., which owns US Patents nos 6,152,142 and 6,326,019 on the method of preparation and clinical uses of human amniotic membrane.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yao, YF., Qiu, WY., Zhang, YM. et al. Mitomycin C, amniotic membrane transplantation and limbal conjunctival autograft for treating multirecurrent pterygia with symblepharon and motility restriction. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmo 244, 232–236 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-005-0010-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-005-0010-y