This Issue At A Glance

Young et al (p. 2390) compared the long-term outcome of limbal conjunctival autograft (LCAU) with that of intraoperative applications of mitomycin C (MMC) in minimizing pterygium recurrence. They also evaluated the effects of MMC on corneal endothelial cell density (ECD). In this 10-year follow-up study of a previous randomized, controlled trial, the researchers found that eyes treated with LCAU were less likely to experience a recurrence than were those treated with intraoperative MMC. Twelve of 47 patients (25.5%) treated with 0.02% intraoperative MMC for 5 minutes experienced a recurrence by the 10-year mark, versus 2 of 29 patients (6.9%) treated with LCAU. Intraoperative MMC was not associated with any changes in ECD, and there was no significant difference in the ECD between operative and fellow eyes in both groups. Additionally, no significant ocular complications were observed in either group. This is the longest follow-up comparison study of pterygium excision with MMC and LCAU to date, the researchers added.