Analysis of the curative effect of two different surgical methods in the treatment of pterygium

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of transplantation of autologous corneal limbal stem cells or amniotic membrane transplantation in the treatment of pterygium. Methods From September 2013 to December 2014 in the Department of Ophthalmology of First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 93 patients (93 eyes) diagnosed with pterygium underwent surgery. According to the different surgical methods were randomly divided into A, group B two groups. Group A of 50 cases (50 eyes) received pterygium excision with autologous limbal stem cell transplantation. Group B in 43 patients (43 eyes) received pterygium excision combined with preserved amniotic membrane transplantation. The patients were followed up for 12 months after operation. Corneal epithelial healing at least 2 weeks after operation and the recurrence of pterygium in 1 year after surgery were observed and recorded on both groups. Results The time of corneal wound healing was (6.74 ± 1.89) days after operation in group A, and the time of group B was (12.23±5.03) days. The repair time of corneal epithelium in A group was shorter than that of group B. Within in year 2 cases (2 eyes) of 50 cases (50 eyes) in group A relapsed, the recurrence rate was 4%; 8 cases (8 eyes) of 43 patients (43 eyes) in group B with recurrence, the recurrence rate was 18.6%, The recurrence rate was lower in group A than group B. The differences in the efficacy of two groups were statistically significant (P <0.05). Conclusions In the treatment of pterygium, autograft limbal stem cell transplantation and preserved amniotic membrane technique has achieved good clinical effect. But the former is more conductive to promote corneal wound repair, reduce the recurrence of pterygium, it is worthy of clinical application. Key words: Pterygium; Limbal stem cells; Preserved amniotic membrane; Transplantation