Combined Conjunctival Autograft Transplantation(CAT) And Overlay Amniotic Membrane Transplantation(AMT) Has Better Clinical Outcome In Primary And Recurrent Pterygium Versus CAT Or AMT Alone

Purpose:To compare long-term outcome of primary and recurrent pterygium surgery with three different techniques:combined conjunctival autograft and overlay Amniotic membrane transplantation(CAT with AMT),Conjunctival autograft transplantation(CAT)only and amniotic membrane transplantation(AMT)only.Methods:In this retrospective study,108(81 primary,27 recurrent)patients underwent CAT(group A),AMT(group B)or CAT with AMT(group C)respectively following surgical excision and compared based on recurrences and post operative complications.Results:The recurrence cases post surgery were 12(33.3%)(7 from primary,5 from recurrent;the same description below),15(41.6%)(9,6)and 1(2.7%)(1,0)in groups A,B,and C respectively;dry eye were 17(47.2%)(14,3),22(61.11%)(16,6)and 5(13.9%)(3,2)respectively.Conjunctival inflammation were 21(58.3%)(13,8),17(47.2%)(10,7)and 5(13.9%)(2,3)respectively.Patients in group C(either primary or recurrent or both)showed significantly better results than those in group A or B(P<0.05)regarding above-mentioned clinical effects.Conclusions:Combined CAT and overly AMT has significantly lower long-term rates of recurrence and post operative complications for primary and recurrent pterygium excision surgery than single graft surgery.