Sutureless, glue-free Pterygium surgery is getting popular as the new advanced surgery to treat Ptergyium, an eye problem that effects people spending a lot of time outdoor. Dr Nitesh Narayan, eye specialist at Maxivision explains about the new surgery and its benefits in an interview.
First throw some light on Ptergyium.
If people are affected with Ptergyium the surface of the eye gets damaged. Growth of conjunctiva occurs and commonly grows from the nasal side of the sclera onto the cornea. Simply, non-cancerous reddish and pink growth occurs on the white part of the eye.
Why does it occur and are there any group of people who are especially prone to it?
There are no known causes of Pterygium till now. But mostly Ptergyium affects those who spend lot of time outdoor in harsh sunlight, low humidity and dust. Exposure to Ultra Violet (UV) rays may be the cause. One change we are observing of late is, even youngsters and middle aged people are complaining about this problem. Earlier mostly elder persons used to complain about the problem.
How is is treated?
Pterygium can be treated only by surgery. Right now we are treating with advanced sutureless gluefree pterygium surgery. Earlier we used to depend on traditional sutures for anchoring the conjuctival autograft on the bare sclera after pterygium excision. Even fibre glue was used for graft fixation till recently. But after the introduction of sutureless glue free surgery we are doing way with sutures and glue and started using autologous blood for graft fixation.
What are the advantages of Sutureless Gluefree Pterygium Surgery?
The main advantage of Sutureless Gluefree Surgery is the recurrence of Pterygium can be completely avoided. Earlier when traditional sutures were used, there used to recurrence of the problem. Also with the sutureless surgery there will be no tearing and minimal eye irritation.
What about the affordability?
Sutureless surgery costs almost the same as the earlier method and it is affordable to all sections of people.