Pterygium is a degenerative disease, the progress of conjunctiva (white of eye), and concerns cornea as well (the transparent part of the eye). If this condition if left untreated can lead to impaired vision or worst, loss of vision. Pterygium surgery must be done on time, this is the only way to deal with this disease.
Pterygium is twice more common in men than in women. With age, the incidence increases in people over 40, but it seems that most cases occur between 20 and 40 years. There were no reported cases of pterygium in people aged up to 20 years. The events that patients claim are the appearance of a formation, unsightly, which grows over the transparent part of the eye, the inflammation or redness of the formation, itching, burning, foreign body sensation and, not least, blurred vision or decreased vision (in advanced cases). Pterygium can occur in one or both eyes.
The causes of the occurence of this condition seem to be the exposure to UV rays, namely people working in strong sunlight, welders, inhabitants of tropical and subtropical regions, exposure to high temperatures (blacksmiths, glazier), toxic environments with different vapor and chemicals, dust, extreme cold. etc. Last but not least, genetic predisposition may be an important factor of developing the disease.
There is no known method of prevention.
The recommendation is that when observing any changes in the appearance of the eye, the patient should go to a specialist. It is extremely important that pterygium surgery is performed as soon as possible, on time. The sooner the surgery is done, the best the visual result is.
Symptomatic treatment aims at improving the ocular discomfort caused by pterygium. We recommend treatment with artificial tears and local anti-inflammatory medicines.
The curative treatment is always surgical. Surgery is easy for the patient, is performed under local anesthesia, without hospitalization. For advanced cases, recurrent or which may become recurrent, there may be indicated an anti-VEGF and after the surgery therapy. The procedure takes less and does not hurt. After the surgery, local treatment is administered with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, artificial tears. There are no special restrictions after surgery.
Tests, complications and recommendations
Complications (fortunatelly very rare):
- relapse is the most common complication
- red eye
- vicious scarring
- secondary astigmatism
- infection or inflammation
Recommendations after pterygium surgery:
- exposure to dust, wind, going to the pool, lake, ocean for 30 days is forbidden
- during the first 2 weeks after surgery it is recommended to get help when washing your head to avoid water entering the eye
- make up is forbidden for 3 weeks
- rubbing your eyes must be avoided for 30 days
- local trauma are forbidden in the first 4 weeks
Mandatory postoperative checks are: first day after surgery, 6-8 weeks, six months and then once a year. Attention, depending on the case, these dates may change!
The patient is informed during the preoperative consultation about complications, risks, outcomes.
For any questions or information contact one of our assistants.