Corneal perforation after excision of pterygium and use of 0.02% mitomycin eyedrops

A 67-year old female underwent surgery for an invading pterygium by simple excision of the lesion and instillations of mitomycin-C 0.02% eye-drops. Three months later, she developed a corneal perforation in the same eye which led to an endophthalmitis, successfully treated medically (but the function was lost). Three risk factors seem to play a major role in corneal complications after use of MMC: old age of the patients, concentration of the drug and duration of the treatment. By respecting some basic precautions we can take full advantage of MMC use, especially in reducing the risk of recurrence of pterygium.