- Excessive exposure to outdoor condition
such as ultraviolet radiation, drying and trauma from wind and dust
has been proposed as the etiology of this conjunctival change
- Clinical features:
- Symptoms:
- Often asymptomatic or only cosmetic
- Rarely cause visual impairment
- May cause serious threat to vision if it progresses to visual
axis
- Signs:
- Raised triangular growth of bulbar conjunctiva which invades
the cornea, and like a pinguecula is predominantly located
nasally
- Progression of pterygium may be very slowly over many years.
- Management:
- Routine ocular examination is suggested to
determine whether the pterygium is active by the degree of the
vascular injection in the bulk of tissue and growth of the leading
edge encroaching on the visual axis.
- Surgical removal is indicated if the lesion
causes discomfort or local irritation, significant visual impairment,
or restriction of lateral gaze.
- Beta irradiation, mitomycin-C and free conjunctival
autograft have all been used to reduce the recurrence rate.
- Recurrence rate is high, especially
in those countries with constant high exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
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