Background: To evaluate the efficacy of amniotic membrane transplantation in primary pterygium surgery.
Methods: Patients presenting to the outpatient clinic of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital with primary pterygium requiring surgical management were included in this study. The pterygia were excised to bare sclera and the conjunctival defects were closed with amniotic membrane grafts. The primary outcome was pterygium recurrence.
Results: Twenty-eight pterygia of 26 patients were included. Twenty-three patients (88%, 25 eyes) completed 12 months follow up. By 12 months postoperatively 16 of these eyes (64%) had developed corneal recurrence and a further two had developed a limbal recurrence (9%). Five required repeat surgery during the 12 month follow-up period. No association was found between pterygium recurrence and pterygium size (P = 0.33), amniotic membrane graft dimension (P = 0.12), patient age (P = 0.53) or patient sex (P = 0.63).
Conclusion: Amniotic membrane grafting for primary pterygium was associated with an unacceptably high recurrence rate in this population.