Childhood Pterygium: A Descriptive Study of 19 Cases Presented to a Tertiary Eye Care Center

Abstract

Purpose To describe the demographic features, clinical characteristics, and management in cases of childhood pterygium. Design Observational case series. Methods A retrospective review was done of 19 children (total 26 eyes) under the age of 16 years, consecutively presenting with pterygium and evaluated at a single tertiary care center between January 2000 and August 2011. The main outcome measures were clinical features, associated ocular or systemic diseases, approach towards its management, and histopathology of operated cases. Results Of the 19 patients, 10 were girls and 9 were boys. The mean age at presentation was 10.63 ± 3.48 years (range 2–15 years). Seven patients (37%) had bilateral involvement. None of the cases had familial history. The median refractive astigmatism was found to be −0.5 diopter cylinder. All the eyes had primary pterygium, except 1, which was recurrent. The majority of the eyes (85%) were managed conservatively. Four eyes (15%) required surgery, where pterygium excision with conjunctival-limbal autograft with fibrin glue application was done. The follow-up of surgical cases ranged from 5 to 38 months (median 6 months). One operated case recurred 1 year after surgery. Conclusion Development of pterygium is a possibility in younger age groups. No specific predisposing factors, either environmental or familial, were identified as contributing to childhood pterygium. The majority of the cases required conservative management.