Pterygium

Pterygium is a benign formation, which develops on the surface of the eye from the conjunctiva of the sclera (white of the eye) and penetrates the cornea. It is a triangular fibrovascular tissue and is related to solar radiation.

What are the symptoms of pterygium?

It can become inflamed from time to time, making it redder and irritating to the eye. It grows over time creating astigmatism. It extends slowly into the cornea, can cover the pupil and the optical axis and affect vision, becoming a functional problem.
It is also an aesthetic problem and for the above reasons more and more patients ask us to remove it.

What are the causes of the pterygium?

The pterygium is associated with prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. People who have spent long periods in areas with high sunshine and outdoors with warm climate seem to have a better chance of developing a fin.

An essential element of any surgical procedure, especially cosmetic surgery, is providing the patient with sufficient time for information.

What can I do to prevent pterygium and its inflammation?

If you want to prevent the creation of the flap or a flap has already appeared and you want not to increase, you can follow the following tips that help prevent possible irritations:
– Use artificial tear drops to moisturize and relieve your eyes.
– Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from ultraviolet (UV) sunlight.
– Protect your eyes from dust by wearing glasses or a protective mask in cases where the working environment has intense dust.

How is the pterygium diagnosed?

During the ophthalmological examination, Dr. Nikolaos Trakos will examine you thoroughly in the slit lamp, photograph the morphoma, to explain what it is, study the eye surface for inflammation and investigate whether there is Dry Eye Disease. If necessary, it will take advantage of the special imaging offered by OCT – cohesion optical tomography – anterior segment.
In this examination the type of pterygium will be diagnosed. The fleshy pterygium type and some types of pterygium are more aggressive, so it needs the best possible examination. Patients have aggressive types, are under the age of 50 or who already have a relapse after flap removal have a higher risk of developing a recurrent pterygium.
The pterygium may coexist with cancerous formations of the ocular surface. The above test will help with high technology and clinical experience in the correct diagnosis of pterygium, which is a benign formation, and the exclusion of malignancy (ocular surface neoplasia, squamous cell carcinoma of conjunctiva).

What is the treatment of the pterygium?

Its initial treatment when the eye is irritated and inflamed is the administration of corticosteroids in drops.
If inflammatory relapses are common or are quite large and irritates aesthetically and functionally, with the astigmatism it creates, it is advisable to remove it.

Dr. Nikolaos Trakos may recommend surgical removal of the pterygium in the following cases:
– If the pterygium has grown large enough on the cornea and there is a risk of covering the visual axis, thus leading to loss of vision.
– If the pterygium affects vision, usually causing astigmatism.
– If it causes frequent irritations and symptoms of foreign body sensation, tingling and tearing.
– If the patient wishes it for aesthetic reasons.

Its removal is performed surgically.
The simple removal of HIV has an increased risk of recurrence of up to 80%. That is, while it is surgically removed, it is recreated, because neighboring tissues, which have also been bombarded in previous years with ultraviolet radiation from the sun and other sources, are developing this fibrovascular tissue again, namely the pterygium.
Dr. Nikolaos Trakos applies the most modern techniques that minimize the chances of relapse, with the best functional and aesthetic result.
In particular, after removing the pterygium and surrounding capsule of Tenon, it applies a substance called Mitomycin-C to inhibit the production of fibrovascular tissue from fibroblasts and eye tissues. In the end, he covers up the defect using a conjunctival graft from the patient himself, from an area that has not been bombarded by sunlight, and is located beneath the eyelid.
Fixation of the graft can be done either with stitches or tissue adhesive. The advantage of the use of tissue adhesive is to further reduce the likelihood ofpterygiums recurrence, while sutures can cause local inflammation in the area. Although the stitches are absorbable, they may need to be removed because they may react with the tissues or may disturb giving the foreign body sensation for several days.
In published studies, the rate of recurrence (ie recurrence) of the pterygium after its removal and the use of autograft conjunctiva with stitches ranges from 5 to 30%, while with the use of tissue adhesive between 5-10%. For this reason, Dr. Nikolaos Trakos recommends surgical removal of pterygium with conjunctival autografting and use of tissue adhesive with or without stitches as appropriate.
The surgery is performed under local anesthesia, it does not hurt, you do not need to be hospitalized, and at the end of the operation a protective patch is placed, which is removed the next day, and drops of antibiotics and artificial tears are administered for some days afterwards.

Why choose Dr. Trakos?

Dr. Trakos’ contribution to the field of anterior segment and cataract surgery, as well as to the treatment of vision problems, has changed the lives of many people by improving their sight and quality of life