Abstract

Pterygium can cause impairment of vision through altered tear film, induced astigmatism, photophobia, epiphora, and binocular diplopia due to contraction tenon’s capsule, which limits eye movements therefore, normal movement of lid may be compromised and this may lead to secondary changes in the desiccated epithelium, resulting in less wettable areas in TBUT. Surgery is the only effective treatment for pterygium. Material and method: This comparative study was conducted on 75 diagnosed patients of pterygium who visited Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College Patiala after fulfilling the inclusion criteria. A written and informed consent was taken from the patients. The diagnosis of pterygium was done after thorough clinical examination and the diagnosed cases were subjected to Tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer’s test - 1 (Without topical anaesthesia), Schirmer’s – 2 Basal Tear Secretion (with topical anaesthesia). Observation and results: Out of total 75 patients who underwent pterygium excision along with conjunctical autografting, 9 (12%) patients showed recurrence between 3 to 6 months.Following pterygium surgery with conjunctival autograft, the TBUT increased from 8.26 ± 2.37 secs to 10.06 ± 2.36 secs 1 month postoperatively among patients who showed no recurrence. Among the patients who showed recurrence later on TBUT values also increased from 8.33 ± 2.12 secs preoperatively to 10.44 ± 2.0 secs 1 month postoperatively. Both these changes were statistically significant. The values of schirmer-1 and schirmer-2 showed some improvement following pterygium surgery among all patients but those changes were not statistically significant Conclusion: This study revealed abnormal tear film function are associated with development of pterygium. Pterygium excision improved tear film function, TBUT significantly, although the improvement in schirmers was insignificant.

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