# The Role of 20% Ethanol in Enhancing Pterygium Surgery Outcomes: A Clinical Study

## TL;DR

This study shows that using 20% ethanol during pterygium surgery improves outcomes by reducing corneal astigmatism and enhancing vision.

## Contribution

The novel use of 20% ethanol as an adjuvant in pterygium excision is evaluated for its effectiveness and safety.

## Key findings

- Mean visual acuity improved significantly to LogMAR 0.46±0.35 after three months.
- Corneal astigmatism decreased from 3.36±2.87 to 0.87±0.57, showing statistical significance.
- No recurrence of pterygium was observed among participants during follow-up.

## Abstract

Introduction

Pterygium is an ocular surface disorder characterized by a hyperplastic growth of conjunctiva encroaching over the cornea. It causes redness, watering, and foreign body sensation. Surgical excision is the preferred mode of treatment when there is encroachment over the visual axis, chronic irritation, restricted ocular motility, and cosmetic concerns. Various surgical methods have been adopted for the treatment and to prevent recurrences. This study assessed the effectiveness and safety of 20% ethanol as an adjuvant in pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft implantation, evaluating surgical outcomes.

Methods

A prospective hospital-based interventional study was conducted among 30 patients with pterygium from August 2022 to December 2023. Patients were evaluated preoperatively for anterior segment, posterior segment, visual acuity, and corneal astigmatism. Pterygium was excised using 20% ethanol as an adjuvant, and conjunctival autograft was placed over the bare sclera without sutures. Patients were evaluated on postoperative days 1, 8, 30, and 90 for graft condition, visual acuity, corneal astigmatism, and associated complications.

Results

After three months of follow-up, the mean visual acuity improved to LogMAR 0.46±0.35 (p=0.001), which was statistically significant, and the average corneal astigmatism decreased from 3.36±2.87 to 0.87±0.57 (p=0.0001). No recurrence was noted among the participants.

Conclusion

This study has shown that using 20% ethanol as an adjuvant for pterygium excision facilitated clean dissection of a pterygium from the underlying cornea and the pterygium-induced corneal astigmatism has significantly decreased, which led to progress in vision.