Pterygium Surgery in Las Vegas – Details
After numbing the eye with eye drops, the tissue (conjunctiva) and underlying tissue (tenon’s capsule) is removed, and the resulting gap is filled with a conjunctival autograft.. To reduce the chance of pterygium recurrence, one medication (prednisolone) is used after surgery for 2-3 months. The graft is secured in place using a special tissue adhesive called fibrin and plasminogen glue, which avoids post-op discomfort, swelling, and irritation caused by sutures. Tiseel glue also minimizes post-op inflammation at the graft site, reducing the chance of pterygium growing back. The eye is patched to prevent scratching or poking during sleep
Amniotic membrane comes from human placental tissue that has been cryopreserved following childbirth. It is from a stranger and although it is processed, there is a possibility of transmission of infections from the donor. When your own tissue is not suitable for use or for larger growths on the nasal and temporal cornea, it can be used to cover the defect. It has a similar composition to conjunctival tissue, making it a highly compatible tissue graft material for eye surgery. Amniotic membrane has properties that inhibit inflammation, scarring, and the formation of new blood vessels, reducing the risk of pterygium recurrence. There are no published reports of human disease transmission resulting from an amniotic membrane graft to the eye but this risk is completely eliminated by using your own tissue for the graft.
SWEI’s surgeons have adopted many advancements in the field, leading to a pterygium recurrence rate at their practice below 3 percent. These include carefully removing the pterygium and underlying scar tissue to achieve clean borders, minimizing the surgical manipulation of the tissue surrounding the gap, using a bio-compatible autologous conjunctival membrane graft, affixing the graft with fibrin glue, and following a meticulous post-op medication regimen designed to suppress swelling, inflammation and infection.
.After surgery, steroid eye drops must be applied to the surface of the eye daily for two to three months to minimize the chances of recurrence. Antibiotic eye drops must be applied for one week after surgery to prevent infection. Compliance with the dosing schedule is key to preventing recurrent pterygium. Patients will be checked by their doctor on the day following surgery, then will follow-up will be tailored to your progress but generally at one week, one month, three months, six months, and one-year post-op. After that, they will be seen annually to check for recurrence of their pterygium. Patients may feel irritation and a foreign body sensation in their eye once the anesthesia wears off. These symptoms will resolve in a week, and there will also be redness at the surgical site that can last up to six weeks. Typically, patients will take from six to eight weeks to heal fully.
The procedure is generally covered by insurance when medically necessary (progression, redness, irritation despite drops, sunglasses). If not covered plan on about $2500/eye for treatment. Other less expensive techniques exist but have as high as a 40% regrowth rate and we don’t use these inferior techniques.
The decision to undergo pterygium removal surgery should be done after careful consideration and discussion with our eye doctors to ensure that the risks and benefits of the procedure are understood, and the post-operative eye care regimen necessary for successful results is performed. Pterygium surgery generally has good outcomes, particularly with patients who comply with their post-op prescription eye drop schedule. There are some rare risks associated with pterygium surgery, including eye swelling, double vision, prolonged redness, recurrence and infection.