Primary pterygium recurrence time.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The time to recurrence after surgical removal of primary pterygium (pterygium) and the association between the rate of recurrence and the postoperative interval remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: To determine the amount of follow-up time needed to identify recurrence in patients after surgical removal of pterygium. METHODS: We reviewed the files of 143 patients (143 eyes) with recurrent pterygium to determine the interval from surgery to recurrence. RESULTS: Almost all (91.6%) of the recurrences appeared by 360 days after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: One year is the optimal follow-up time to identify recurrence of pterygium.