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Abstract

Objective: To compare the frequency of complications and recurrence rate among two different techniques used in primary pterygium surgery (anchored conjunctival rotation flap and autograft technique). Study Design: Comparative prospective study.
Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted at Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Peshawar, over a period of 6 month (September 2016 to March 2017).
Methodology: All the patients reporting for elective primary pterygium surgery were considered for the study. sixty (60) patients presenting with primary pterygium characterized with corneal invasion, measured from corneal limbus, of at least 4mm in size consented study. Patients were divided into two groups and assigned to either of the surgical technique i.e., anchored conjunctival rotation flap (group A) or Autograft technique (group B) in 1:1 ratio. Surgery was performed by a dedicated surgeon and outcomes were recorded on first post-operative day followed by reassessment at every 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks. All the patients were followed up for 12 months post-operatively for assessing recurrence of pterygium.
Results: Before surgery, the baseline characteristics were similar for both the groups. After 8 weeks of follow- up, the comparison revealed that the major complication of pterygium surgery i.e. edema, was statistically significantly more common among patients belonging to autograft group as compared to rotation flap group (63.3% vs 16.6%, p<0.002). On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in recurrence rate among two techniques (3.3% vs 6.6%, p>0.55).
Conclusion: Both the techniques used in primary pterygium surgery were safe for performing a meticulous pterygium excision.