Subconjunctival bevacizumab injection in the surgery of primary pterygium: comparison with intraoperative mitomycin-C.

PURPOSE

To assess the efficacy of subconjunctival bevacizumab injection as adjuvant therapy in the prevention of recurrence following the surgical treatment of pterygium by comparison with intraoperative mitomycin-C application.

METHODS

This prospective comparative study included thirty consecutive patients with primary nasal pterygium that were surgically treated with simple excision. In addition to surgical excision, subconjunctival bevacizumab was injected in 15 eyes (group A), and, in the remaining 15 eyes, topical mitomycin-C 0.2 mg/mL was applied for 2 minutes (group B). The postoperative outcome was followed clinically for a minimum of 12 months. The main outcome criteria were recurrence rate and postoperative complications.

RESULTS

A significantly higher recurrence rate was found in bevacizumab group (66.7%) compared to MMC group (26.7%) (P= 0.028). In group A, conjunctival wound separation was observed in 3 of 15 eyes; however, no conjunctival separation was observed in Group B and no other serious complications were observed in either group.

CONCLUSION

The intraoperative use of subconjunctival bevacizumab does not seem to be effective in reducing the rate of pterygium recurrence following excision when compared with intraoperative mitomycin-C application.