Amniotic membrane transplantation compared with conjunctival autograft for treating pterygium

Objective To observe the healing velocity of corneal epithelium following amniotic membrane transplantation(AMT)and to conjunctival autograft after removal of pterygium, and to compare the clinical outcome of AMT with conjunctival autograft.Methods Forty-nine eyes of 40 patients with pterygium, 17 eyes were treated by AMT after excision of pterygium, and 32 eyes by conjunctival autograft. The healing velocity of corneal epithelium were observed postoperatively. All cases were followed-up for 6 to 24 months.Results The healing velocity of corneal epithelium in AMT group (58 469±16.871)μm·h -1 was significantly faster than conjunctival autograft group (47.370±12.780)μm·h -1 ( P 0.05).There were no recurrent cases in AMT group, and 5 recurrent cases in conjunctival autograft group(15 63%).Conclusions These results indicate that AMT may improve the healing of corneal epithelium after removal of pterygium, and AMT may be a more effective surgical ptocedure in pteventing prerygium recurrence than conjunctival autograft.