TITLE:
Assessment of the Most Common Pterygium Symptoms Leading to the Decision for Its Surgical Removal
AUTHORS:
Vasileios Konidaris, Evgenia Kanonidou, Christina Kanonidou, Leonidas Papazisis
KEYWORDS:
Pterygium; Pterygium Surgery; Astigmatism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ophthalmology,
Vol.3 No.3,
August
7,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Purpose: Pterygium is a benign
growth of conjunctival tissue frequently related to chronic sunlight exposure
and hot and dry climate. Purpose of this study was to evaluate the predominant
symptoms in patients with pterygium leading to its surgical removal decision. Methods: 31 patients (19 males, 12 females), mean age
48.75 years old (SD 8.5), with primary pterygium and no other eye disease
participated in the study. The predominant symptoms caused by the pterygium
were assessed using a questionnaire. Results: The predominant symptoms associated with the pterygium were: discomfort/feeling
of foreign body in 31 patients (100%), redness in 23 (74%), increased
lacrimation in 17 (55%), aesthetic reasons in 12 (39%), visual disturbance
(astigmatism/extension of the pterygium to the optical axis) in 4 (13%). In one
case, despite the absence of annoying symptoms, surgical excision was proposed
due to the atypical appearance of pterygium. For younger patients, the
predominant reason for choosing surgical removal was that the patients are not
content with external appearance caused by pterygium and in contrast
lacrimation was the predominant reason for the older. In most patients, visual
disturbance was not a significant cause although astigmatism in eyes with
pterygium was 3.51 D (SD 1.82) and 0.95 D (SD 0.78) in healthy eyes respectively. Discussion: The main symptom in patients with pterygium is foreign
body sensation; meanwhile aesthetic consideration and increased lacrimation are
the main reasons leading to surgical removal decision for younger and older
patients, respectively.