Study on Visual Outcome after Simultaneous Pterygium and Cataract Surgery among Patients attending Tertiary Care Hospital, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu

BACKGROUND: Pterygium is a common surface disorder of tropical climate. The degenerative growth often progresses towards the cornea to result in corneal scarring and visual impairment. One of the most common ocular manifestation, especially in the old age is senile cataract and sometimes, occur simultaneously with pterygium. Although surgery is the management of choice for both these conditions, simultaneous management of pterygium and cataract has been seldom attempted. This study was carried out to evaluate certain ocular parameters between pre and postoperative period following simultaneous management of pterygium and senile cataract. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study was carried out to compare the visual acuity before and after simultaneous small incision cataract surgery and pterygium excision with inferior limbal-conjunctival autograft transplantation. OBJECTIVES: 1. To evaluate the visual acuity of patients with senile cataract and pterygium after simultaneous small incision cataract surgery following pterygium excision with inferior limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation. 2. To serially assess the visual acuity on postoperative day 1, week 1 and week 6 following simultaneous small incision cataract surgery and pterygium excision with inferior limbal-conjunctival autograft transplantation. METHODS: This prospective cohort study was carried out among 54 adults who presented with concurrent senile cataract and grade 2 pterygium. After preoperative work up, pterygium was excised and inferior limbal autograft transplantation was carried out. For the senile cataract, small incision cataract surgery was carried out in the same sitting. Data regarding visual acuity, intra ocular pressure and keratometer findings were documented for preoperative and postoperative periods during postoperative day 1, first week and 6th week following surgery. RESULTS: Majority of the study participants were females and were aged between 50-65 years. There was a statistically significant improvement in the visual acuity between ...