☆ What is a pterygium? Pterygium is a common and frequent disease in ophthalmology. It is thought to be a chronic inflammatory lesion caused by external stimulation of the local conjunctival fibrovascular tissue, which is triangular in shape and can invade the cornea, affecting one or both eyes. It is called pterygium because of its resemblance to an insect’s wing, and in Chinese medicine, it is called “pterygium pancreaticum” or “fish meat”. It is one of the most common ophthalmic diseases in clinical practice and is also the oldest eye disease. Pterygium not only causes redness, tearing, foreign body sensation, and affects appearance, but also causes astigmatism when the pterygium progresses to the center of the cornea, which can seriously affect vision if the pupil is obscured. In addition, a thick, contracted pterygium can restrict eye movement. The occurrence of pterygium is closely related to UV damage, and there are significant geographical differences. Xiamen is located in the “pterygium high incidence zone”, and the total number of people suffering from this disease is estimated to be 20-50 million in China. Outdoor workers who are exposed to UV rays and glare and reflection of strong light for a long time, or people who like outdoor activities, can be prevented by wearing UV protective glasses. ☆ Treatment of pterygium If the pterygium grows into the black eye and affects vision, the pterygium should be removed at a hospital. Surgery is currently the only effective treatment for pterygium, and there are no specific medications that can inhibit the formation of pterygium or prevent its further development. If the pterygium does not invade the black eye and does not affect vision, treatment may not be necessary. In cases of combined trachoma or chronic conjunctivitis, antibiotics or glucocorticoid eye drops may be used. ☆ How many types of surgery are available for pterygium? Because of the high incidence of pterygium and the high recurrence rate after traditional surgery, the world ophthalmology community has conducted in-depth research on this surgery and has continued to improve and refine the surgical methods. Nowadays, microscopic pterygium excision combined with autologous conjunctival transplantation, pterygium excision combined with autologous conjunctival transplantation with corneal limbal stem cells, and pterygium excision combined with amniotic membrane transplantation are mostly used, which can effectively reduce the postoperative recurrence rate. Fresh amniotic membrane transplantation can be effectively used to reconstruct the corneal conjunctiva with anti-inflammatory, anti-scarring, anti-new angiogenesis, providing growth factors and promoting corneal epithelial regrowth. Amniotic membrane can be used to cover the superficial tissues of the eye to protect the defective part and inhibit the inflammatory response. Xiamen Eye Center is the first in China to use autologous conjunctival and amniotic membrane transplantation with corneal rim stem cells to treat pterygium, which improves the success rate of surgery and reduces the recurrence rate after surgery, and this surgical approach has been written up and published in leading medical journals at home and abroad. ☆ Is pterygium surgery safe? Pterygium surgery is performed by removing the pterygium from the surface of the eye without entering the eye, so the surgery is absolutely safe and stable. The entire surgery is performed under local anesthesia and is painless. The surgery takes 10 to 30 minutes and is minimally invasive, with no need to remove stitches afterwards. Do I need to be hospitalized for pterygium surgery? How many days do I need to stay in the hospital? Is it possible to avoid hospitalization? However, hospitalization is good for post-operative anti-infection and timely examination and treatment by the doctor, which is safer for patients. If you are a medically insured patient, you still need to be hospitalized for pterygium surgery. ☆ A new breakthrough in surgical treatment of pterygium The Xiamen Eye Center carried out biogel application for pterygium excision in early May 2008. The advantages compared with traditional pterygium excision are: significantly shorter operation time, improved postoperative suture-induced pain, foreign body sensation and other uncomfortable symptoms, reduced postoperative recurrence rate compared with traditional pterygium excision, easy, safe and effective surgical method. In addition, all patients use imported absorbable sutures, and there is no need to remove sutures after surgery. ☆ Pre-operative precautions Before surgery, please practice your eye movement under the guidance of your healthcare provider to facilitate intraoperative cooperation, which can shorten the surgery time. In order to ensure your comfort, please empty your bowels, remove your dentures, watch and jewelry, and braid your long hair at your sides before surgery. In order to ensure the accuracy of the surgery, all surgeries are performed under a microscope and in a sterile state. Please keep your hands to your side and do not touch your cleaned eyes during the surgery. With your cooperation, the surgery usually takes 15-30 minutes. ☆ Post-operative precautions Reduce head movement on the day of surgery, and stay in the hospital for 24 hours for observation in the field or in the hospital. Because the cornea is rich in nerve endings, eye pain is obvious 24-72 hours after surgery, with foreign body sensation, tearing and difficulty in opening eyes, taking painkillers can well relieve the above symptoms. Please understand that the surgical sutures are imported sutures, which will bring a certain degree of foreign body sensation. Please understand that wrapping both eyes after surgery may cause inconvenience to your life, so please ask your family to take care of you. When you do not use your eyes, try to rest with your eyes closed to prevent the healing of the implants from being affected by excessive eye movement. Pay attention to eye hygiene, do not rub or squeeze your eyes with your hands, keep your eye dressing intact, dry and clean, avoid intense exercise and heavy physical labor for 3 months, and understand the importance of post-operative medication change and regular follow-up. If you have any eye discomfort, rubbing sensation, discharge, eye redness and pain, vision loss, etc., you should visit the doctor at any time, pay attention to avoid bright light stimulation, reduce stress and tension stimulation. ☆ Change of medication After surgery, daily change of medication at the hospital and observation of graft growth, conjunctival vascular crawl and healing of the corneal conjunctival wound under slit lamp. The imported 8-0 absorbable sutures used in our hospital do not need to be removed after surgery. ☆ Correct eye drops Wash your hands carefully before dropping, don’t press and touch the eye when dropping, and don’t touch the cornea and implant, shake well when using mixed suspension, use two or more eye drops at the same time with an interval of more than 15 minutes, use the less irritating one first, the eye drops bottle should not touch the eyelid and eyelashes, put 1-2 drops into the conjunctival sac, and order the medicine strictly according to the doctor’s prescription. ☆ Wear protective glasses The development of pterygium is closely related to UV damage. To prevent postoperative recurrence, it is indispensable to wear UV-protective glasses when going out, which can be worn after discharge from the hospital. There are no special dietary restrictions, avoid spicy and stimulating foods, smoking and alcohol; eat light, soft and easily digestible foods, fruits and vegetables to promote wound repair, and protein intake; keep bowel movements and sleep well, and inform your doctor if you have insomnia or constipation, so that you can use relevant medications to facilitate recovery. Keep your mind as optimistic and relaxed as possible.