Corneal Topographic And Aberrometric Differences After Primary Ptergium Excision: 10-Year Comperati̇ve Outcomes

To evaluate long-term changes in corneal topography and optical quality following pterygium excision in patients without recurrence.

Evaluation of patients who underwent primary pterygium excision at a tertiary referral university hospital with assessment of 10th-year outcomes

26 eyes of 18 patients who underwent pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft were included. Patients with prior ocular surgery, trauma, contact lens use, ocular surface disease, corneal pathology or recurrent pterygium were excluded. All patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination including BCVA, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fundus examination, and Schirmer testing. Ocular surface status and corneal optical quality were assessed using OSDI, tear breakup time (BUT), and Pentacam-based corneal topography including aberrometric analysis

Mean age was 62.9±9.4 years.Mean preoperative visual acuity was 0.78±0.21(Snellen).Significant long-term improvements were observed in corneal topographic and aberrometric parameters following surgery.ISV decreased markedly from 80.4±64.3 preoperatively to 31.1±22 postoperatively (p<0.001), indicating substantial reduction in corneal surface irregularity.Central corneal thickness decreased from 553±55 µm to 531±31 µm (p=0.002).Corneal astigmatism significantly improved from 4.1±4.7D to 1.6±1.9D(p<0.001),while K1 increased from 40.8±4.4D to 42.9±2.1D (p=0.01).Additionally, significant reductions were observed in total trefoil,low-order aberrations, high-order aberrations, RMS total and RMS coma (p<0.05), reflecting improved optical quality.

Pterygium excision provides sustained long-term improvement in corneal surface regularity and optical quality. These findings suggest that surgical benefits extend beyond anatomical restoration and contribute to long-term stabilization of corneal optics