Abstract
Background: To compare conjunctival autograft and combined amniotic membrane mini-simple limbal epithelial transplant after primary pterygium excision Methods: A prospective randomized interventional study was conducted on 264 eyes with Primary Pterygium.The patients were divided into Group I (conjunctival autograft) and Group II (mini-simple limbal epithelial transplant). 133 eyes in Group I underwent pterygium excision with a conjunctival autograft using fibrin glue. 131 eyes in Group II underwent mini Simple Limbal Epithelial Transplant with amniotic membrane using fibrin glue. Post-operatively, the patients were reviewed on day 1,3,7,14 & 30 and then at three,six and nine months. Primary outcome measure was the recurrence rate whereas the secondary outcome measures were the intraoperative time and other complications.Recurrence rate was calculated using Fisher’s exact test. Variables like age , preoperative BCVA , operative time and the dimensions of graft were compared using unpaired t test . Other baseline characteristics like gender, Laterality, grades of pterygium(I-III),Occupation and indication of surgery were expressed between the two groups using Pearson’s Chi-Square test. Results: Two hundred and thirty three eyes(118 in group I and 115 in group II) could complete nine months follow-up period. Recurrence was seen in 2(1.6%) cases in group I whereas 3 cases (2.6%) had recurrence in group II(p=0.681).Operative time for group (II) (20.33±1.28 min) was significantly higher (p<0.001) than group I (12.01±1.26). Graft displacement occurred in one case in group II (p=0.999). Conclusions: Despite a longer time,(p<0.001) mini-SLET seems to be a viable and equally effective alternative to CAG in the management of primary pterygium ,especially in cases where conjunctiva needs to be spared.Ethical Clearance Certificate Number : 29/MH/2015 dated 11 Aug 2015
Randomised controlled study of amniotic membrane graft versus conjunctival autograft in primary pterygium excision