Clinical study of using intraoperative mitomycin C combined with limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation in the treatment of pterygium

Objective To determine whether intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) can enhance the efficacy of limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation (LCAT) for the treatment of primary and recurrent pterygium.Methods This was a prospective case-control study.One hundred and thirty-four eyes of 114 patients with primary and recurrent pterygium were randomly divided into 2 groups.In group A,63 eyes with primary pterygium and 7 eyes with recurrent pterygium were treated with pterygium resection and LCAT combined with a local application of MMC.In group B,57 eyes with primary pterygium and 7 eyes with recurrent pterygium underwent pterygium resection and limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation alone.Epithelial regeneration,rate of pterygium recurrence,visual prognosis and complications were evaluated and compared between the two groups.The mean follow-up was 23.3±8.6 months with a range from 12 to 65 months.Data were analyzed using an independent t test and chi-square test.Results No intraoperative complications were found in any eyes.Postoperative corneal epithelial regeneration took an average of 4.0±0.8 days and 3.4±0.6 days in groups A and B,respectively (t=-3.71,P＞0.05).The rate of pterygium recurrence was 3％ in both groups (x2=0.008,P＞0.05).Postoperative visual acuity improved or remained stable in 74％ of group A and 65％ of group B (x2=1.301,P＞0.05).Postoperative complications included delayed corneal epithelial recovery,limbal conjunctival autograft lag,corneal dellen,and subepithelial inclusion cyst in group A (6％) and group B (5％) (x2=0.071,P＞0.05).Conclusion Intraoperative use of MMC does not enhance the efficacy of LCAT for the treatment of pterygium and may lead to a delay in corneal epithelial recovery. Key words: Pterygium;  Mitomycin ;  Limbal conjunctival autograft