Free conjuctival autograft in the management of advanced primary and recurrent pterygia

Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of free conjuctival autograft in patients with grades III and IV pterygia and to determine the post-operative recurrence rate.Design: A prospective descriptive study.Setting: Menelik II Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Participants: Thirty four patients, 32 with primary and two with recurrent pterygia.Intervention: A superficial Keratectomy extending beyond the corneal lesion all around and sufficiently deep to Bowman’s layer to produce a perfectly clear cornea in the excised area followed by suture a free conjuctival autograft on the excised area.Main outcome measures: Improvement in visual acuity and recurrence rate of pterygia at follow up.Results: Of the 32 patients followed up, the visual acuity remained the same on eight and improved in 24 cases. There were no intraoperative complications. Pterygia recurred in two patients between three and four months postoperatively.Conclusion: This study suggests that a free conjuctival autograft in the management of stage III and IV pterygia is a useful operation resulting in a very low recurrence rate of the pathology