Purpose: To evaluate the corneal abnormalities which occurred after pterygium (Pt) surgery. Methods: A prospective study in 49 eyes with primary Pt was performed. Age, sex, lesion extension [grade (G) I, GII, GIII and GIV] and morphology (atrophic or fleshy) at slip lamp examination were evaluated. All patients were submitted to computer videokeratoscopy and keratometric examination. The data were submitted to statistical analysis. Results: 63% of the sample were males and 80% were older than 41 years. The most commontly observed lesion was atrophic Pt (77%), GII and GIII (39% and 28%, respectively). Astigmatism (Astg) on the 60th postoperative day was similar to that observed in the preoperative period and a small keratometric change was detected from the 1st to the 2nd month after surgery, mainly in the smaller lesions. The observed variations were related to the pterygium grade rather than to the age of the patients or the morphologic type of the lesion. Conclusion: The keratometric and topographic corneal evaluations in patients with pterygium showed that those with smaller lesions (GI and GII) had less astigmatism and fewer changes in corneal curvature in the postoperative period. Two months after surgery, the corneal curvature has the same pattern as that observed before in most patients.
Pterygium; Corneal topography; Prospective studies; Human
