How many surgeries to remove a pterygium

I had a pterygium removed in April 2007 after 17 years of watching it grow. I had a graft from my eye stitched in place. About 7 weeks post surgery, the pterygium was growing back. By the end of 2007 my eye doctor said I needed it to be removed again. I had the second surgery January 2008, this time with an amniotic graft. Low and behold, not two months post surgery, and the pterygium has returned as big and red as ever! Now I am going to see a cornea specialist and will have surgery for the third time. After much research I have to ask, what is a person to do? Also, I followed the doctors orders to the tee, drops, drops, and more drops.
Also, the recovery after the surgery is miserable! It was 3 weeks before my eye felt better and the stitches healed.
Google "pterygium recurrance" and you will read some discouraging stories.
Take care,
eyetoeye


This discussion is related to Pterygium Removal Surgery; Options, Post Unsuccessful Procedure.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Any discussion of pterygium development and surgery will say that reoccurence is the number 1 problem no matter what technique is used and how skillful the surgeon. Rates can be as high as 10-20%.  In the past even superficial strontium irradiation has been used to treat reoccurences.

You have only two options live with it or have the third surgery. Good luck.

Others reading this the main cause of pterygia is excessive sun damage to the conjunctiva. WEAR HATS AND UV BLOCKING SUNGLASSES OUTDOORS IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT.

JCH MD

[Rachel3826]

I'm scheduled to have this surgery 1/6/2010 and am scared to death. I'm not as uneasy about the surgery as I am the recovery.  My doctor is also a man of a few words but one of the top surgeions in the Northeast.  What can I hoestly expect?  The procedure I viewed on the internet looks awful.  I have read about the new method that does not use stitches but my doctor is not performing that yet.  What eases the discomfort?  Does it work to keep your eye continually wet with drops?  Does ice help?  What can I do to ease my discomfort about this entire procedure?

Scared

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Use the search feature and archives to read about recovery from this types of surgery.

CJHMD

[DEEDEE2533]

hi...i had pterygium surgery 4 months ago...both eyes...with conj. autograft with glue with a well experienced...expert corneal surgeon....and my right eye turned out great (graft is smooth, white with a few veins)...however my left eye..which was the most diseased...with pterygium...is not so good. The graft in my left eye gets red around the graft lines & now has scar tissue thats uncomfortable...& the scar tissue is raised up...and the eye looks a little smaller than the other one Dr looked puzzled. I have to see him at 6 months. I researched this for 3 yrs & went to the best dr i could find....and 1 eye went well..the other did not. So depressing.....As far as the surgery...it doesnt hurt one bit...& recovery is not painful...irritating at times...& the eye looks strange while its healing ..the eyelid too..i wasnt prepared for that. Better luck to ya than i had

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[lord20_luigi]

hi i had pterygium surgery more than 5 weeks ago using pterygium excision with mitmycin c,im a little bothered i see no to very little improvement,i emailed my doctor and told me to instill pred forte eye drops,but i dont see an improvement,what should i do, i cant live with this condition pls help me..

[lord20_luigi]

i had 2 pterygium surgery the first one i dont know what technique the doctor used and the secont surgery my doctor used mitomycin c but the pterygia came back,now i asked him what option can we consider he told me about avastin injection,.,can you pls share me facts about this is this effective to reduce the redness,do you advice this kind of treatment?

[lord20_luigi]

i had 2 pterygium surgery the first one i dont know what technique the doctor used and the secont surgery my doctor used mitomycin c but the pterygia came back,now i asked him what option can we consider he told me about avastin injection,.,can you pls share me facts about this is this effective to reduce the redness,do you advice this kind of treatment?

[PatoC00]

I had a pterygium removed on my left eye back in the early 90s using the grafting and stitching technique (in Quito-Ecuador).  Although the recovery was long and not free of pain and discomfort, my eye looked great after a few weeks.  You could never tell I had any surgery done on my left eye, and the pterygium never came back.   My right eye is a different story.  I had surgery done in Nov-08 in Sarasota, FL using the grafting and glue procedure.   The recovery was shorter and less painfull than the first one... my eye looked great only a week after the surgery.  However, 6 weeks later my eye started getting very red and irritated with a lot of discomfort.  The dr. tryed to control it by putting me back on the steroid drops, but that didn't help.   Then he told me that the pterygium was back and that the scarring was normal, and that I needed another surgery.  I've switched doctors since then, and I've learned a couple of things.   First, that the doctors in Ecuador are experts on these surgeries because pterygium is such a common problem in that area of the world, which I am a witness too.  Second, that the steroid treatment during and after the surgery is critical.  The dosing, frequency and duration of steroid treatment is extremely important to control the recurrence and scarring.  In my case, the steroid treatment was dropped only 3 weeks after the surgery.  My new doctor tells me that the treatment should have continued for about 3 months!  This was confirmed by the doctor that performed my surgery on my left eye back in Ecuador.   I wish I had known all this before.  Now I'm considering a second surgery, but I'm not sure yet after this bad experience.  

[tinaorion]

Patco00 - Thank you for your comment!!!

I cannot believe you went to Quito and had a great experience .. I was just talking to my husband about going to Ecuador (Quito possibly) over the summer.  Would you recommend I see a Dr. about the other eye while I am there?  I still need to get the other one done.  I REFUSE to do it in the US - because of the experience I have had.  I never want to go through this again.  I CRY about it to my husband a lot.  If the Dr. had TOLD ME the eye may "NEVER LOOK NORMAL" before the surgery - I would not have done it!  
Now, the right eye (the one I had surgery on) looks worse than the left eye and I still need to have surgery on the left eye.  The whole IDEA was to have my eye look BETTER .. not worse.   And the bill was over $25,000.00 .... for one eye!  What a SCAM.

(( It looks "OK" at times, but, it is usually quite red and irritated looking MOST OF THE TIME.  It does not hurt .. but feels dry and irritated most of the time.  I must put drops in my eyes 5 or 6 times a day! ))

[wutaijun]

Well, everybody who have got the pterygium, and it has still grown again after surgery. My wife can help you by acupuncture, also it has controled which not grow again.  My email: ***@****

[Sillysylvia]

I do not recommend the surgery AT ALL"!!! I had surgery too and my left eye hurts every single day ,it is smaller than my other eye , pink.  I had surgery in CA- Tulare County, 21 days ago. Healing process seems to be loger than told by the doctor and results not so great..