Background

Pterygium is a wing-shaped growth of conjunctival tissue that most commonly involves the nasal side of the eye as it crosses to the cornea thought to originate from ultraviolet damage leading to inflammation, new blood vessel growth and fibrosis (Clearfield 2016, Dai 2024)

Pterygium is a common disease of the ocular surface that can induce astigmatism due to medial traction on the cornea (Tang 2020). Other symptoms of pterygium may include chronic discomfort, alterations to tear film and cosmetic concerns (Chang 2024). 

References

Chang J, Cao Q, Yong J, Ling X, Zhang X, Kang Z, Xue C. The effect of different pterygium surgery techniques on the ocular surface parameters in different durations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2024 May;262(5):1383-1396. doi: 10.1007/s00417-023-06191-1. Epub 2023 Aug 15. PMID: 37581652.

Clearfield E, Muthappan V, Wang X, Kuo IC. Conjunctival autograft for pterygium. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Feb 11;2(2):CD011349. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011349.pub2. PMID: 26867004; PMCID: PMC5032146.

Dai J, Rayana NP, Peng M, Sugali CK, Harvey DH, Dhamodaran K, Yu E, Dalloul JM, Liu S, Mao W. Inhibition of pterygium cell fibrosis by the Rho kinase inhibitor. Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):30930. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-81659-6. PMID: 39730553; PMCID: PMC11680712.

Tang Y, Qian D, Wei L, Du Y, Qiu X, Lu Y, Zhu X. Influences of the three-dimensional parameters of pterygium on corneal astigmatism and the intraocular lens power calculation. Sci Rep. 2020 Mar 19;10(1):5017. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-61959-3. PMID: 32193493; PMCID: PMC7081302.