The excision-generated effect of pterygium on the related corneal astigmatism

Abstract

This herein-experimental study was purposely designed to understand the excision-generated effect of pterygium on the related corneal astigmatism (CA). This prospective study was conducted on 26 eyes of 18 patients (˂53 years old) with a primary-nasal pterygium that had attended Al-Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital, Al-Diwaniyah, Iraq during March 2016 to September 2017. The study involved 26 eyes that had different grades of pterygium (GP), 1 eye (3%) had GP I, 10 eyes (38%) had GP II, 9 eyes had GP III, and 6 eyes had GP IV. The astigmatism degrees vary with the GP. Preoperative means of astigmatism (PrMA) were 1.77+/-0.45 diopter (D) in GP I, 2.64+/0.77D in GP II, 3.65+/-1.53D in GP III, and 5.74+/-2.2D in GP IV. Interestingly, the degrees of astigmatism were decreased significantly post-pterygium removal. The PrMA, 3.45+/1.23, was reduced to postoperative mean astigmatism (PoMA) 1.71+/-0.99D. The preoperative mean of vision (PrMV), 0.5+/-0.4 was improved to 0.6+/-0.4. Corneal astigmatism was decreased after three months following the excisions. The current study concluded that the possible interference of these invasive tissues with the visual axis of the affected eyes. It also provides significant rates of visual improvements after performing these operations. In addition, visual acuity could be enhanced as soon as the surgical removals of these damaging tissues are done.