Effectiveness of intra-operative Mitomycin-C in reducing the recurrence of pterygium in Irrua, Nigeria

To evaluate the effectiveness of intra-operative Mitomycin-C application after pterygium surgery in Irrua, Nigeria. The medical records of all patients who had pterygium excision with intra-operative application of 0.4mg/ml Mitomycin C between June 2002 and May 2007 and followed up for at least a year were reviewed. Two hundred and forty three eyes (196 patients) had pterygium excision with intra-operative application of 0.4mg/ml Mitomycin C over this period. Male to female ratio was 2:1. The mean age of the patients was 47.1years (SD+ 15.4) Eleven eyes had recurrence after a minimum follow up period of one year. Six (54.5%) out of the eleven eyes that had recurrence had conjunctival granuloma and in such cases recurrence was early (between 2 to 3 months of surgery). Conjunctival granuloma was the main complication occurring in 35 eyes (14.4%). Occurrence of granuloma was significantly associated with recurrence (P =0.0006). Delayed wound healing occurred in 5 eyes (2.1%). There was no case of either scleral or corneal melting. Intra-operative application of 0.4mg/ml Mitomycin C is very effective in reduction of recurrence of pterygium after excision. Hence patients should be given the benefit of intra-operative use of Mitomycin C during pterygium surgery.