Abstract

Pterygium is an ocular surface condition that is very common. It is a wing-shaped fibrovascular growth that extends from the conjunctiva onto the nasal, temporal, or both aspects of the cornea. It is believed that ultraviolet light is a major contributor in the formation of pterygia, though reflected, scattered light is also critical. The study aim to compare the surgical outcomes of pterygium surgery-conjuctival autograft vs amniotic membrane transplant. A total of 120 patients were randomly divided into 4 groups of 30 each by chit box method. In this study, patients underwent extended excision of pterygium followed by suture less or with sutured conjunctival autograft or amniotic membrane transplant with or without sutures. The mean age was 57.65 years and the standard deviation being 9.7 years. 69% of all the patients affected were males while 31% of the patients affected were females. Results showing there was significant improvement in visual acquity after pterygium excision (p=0.001). The preoperative complaints of patients were classified into either visual disturbance or ocular discomfort, or both. Comparison of Pre-operative vs post-operative visual acuity shows that there was significant improvement in visual acquity after pterygium excision. All the surgeries and complications had no significant difference (P > 0.05). Higher mean scores of inflammation were observed on the 3^rd, 7^th, 14^th and 30^th post-operative day. We draw the conclusion that both the amniotic membrane graft and conjunctival autograft methods are equally effective ways to treat pterygium surgery, with similar rates of recurrence and cosmetic outcomes. Either method may be chosen depending on the patient's characteristics and the ophthalmologist's access to facilities.