This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of conjunctival autograft compared with primary closure and amniotic membrane transplantation for primary pterygium excision.
Data were retrospectively studied from all primary pterygium excisions from January 2002 to December 2017 from the electronic database at the University Eye Hospital, Tübingen.
From 521 primary pterygium excisions, 284 (54.5%) were primary closures, 203 (39.0%) were conjunctival autografts, and 34 (6.5%) were amniotic membrane transplants. The mean number of primary pterygium excisions was 33 per year (range, 14–56 per year). The mean patient age was 58±15 years. Younger age was associated with a significantly increased recurrence rate (P=0.002). The mean pterygium recurrence rate in the three study groups at 12 months after surgery was 11.3% (range, 6.4–14.7%). Recurrence occurred 13 patients (6.4%) in the conjunctival autograft group, 41 patients (14.4%) in the primary closure group, and five patients (14.7%) in the amniotic membrane transplantation group. Conjunctival autograft was associated with a significantly lower recurrence rate (P=0.005).