It’s a fleshy tissue that forms on the exterior part of the eye and grows over time due to prolonged exposure to the ultraviolet rays from sun and dust.
Symptoms might include
- Red eyes,
- Irritation,
- Ttching and
- Burning sensation,
- Inflammation and
- Problems with vision.
- Pain (sometimes)
The initial ophthalmic medical treatment for pterygium is treated with eye drops and using polarized sunglasses is recommended to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.
if it doesn’t continue to grow and it doesn’t bother you at all, do not touch it.
if it continues to grow it becomes uncomfortable and invades the pupillary area affecting your vision, then surgery is recommended.
Conjunctival autograft adhesion with fibrin glue is the most modern technique with the best results. Patient recovers faster, less inflammation and it has a 80% chance of not regrowing. No stitches are required.
Yes, unfortunately, pterygium can grow back again and sometimes aggresively. This is more common in young patients.
The painless procedure takes about 30 minutes and is an outpatient noninvasive surgery with a recovery time of two weeks to four weeks. Local anaesthesia is used. We give medication to help you relax. Plus we have state of the art operating room at your disposal.
The autograft technique means that a small portion of the upper conjunctiva will be placed at the site where the pterygium is excised, avoiding future growths.
In case you happen to be exposed to the outdoors. Use lubricating drops frequently (1 drop 3 times a day), a cap to cover from the wind and some high quality polarized sunglasses, As well as an annual visit to the ophthalmologist for a general checkup.
I know roatan is a beautiful place and we all want to be outdoors enyoing the beauty, but don’t forget to protect your eyes from too much exposure of the sun, salty wind, smoke, dirt and cleaning chemical components. Your eyes are important and beautiful. Take care of them.
