A comparison between pinguecula and pterygium

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 5:48 pm Post in Eye Diseases

Both pinguecula and pterygium occur on the surface of the sclera, so that many people are confused. In fact, these two eye problems are different in causes, symptoms and treatments.

Pingueculae are yellowish, slighted raised lesions on the sclera, while pterygia are wedge- or wing-shaped growths of benign fibrous tissue on it. Most pingueculae are found in the open space between eyelids, and pterygia may grow into cornea in extreme cases. Both of them are commonly related to overexposure to UV light, which is considered as a major contributor. Of course, these two eye problems can both affect people’s appearance.

In most cases, pingueculae and pterygia have no obvious symptoms. However, they have different signs in some cases. Irritation-caused pinguecula makes people feel something in the eye and some pingueculae may become swollen and inflamed, a condition named pingueculitis. Differently, some pterygia become red, large or thick. Large and advanced pterygia may cause corneal distortion and astigmatism.

Pinguecula and pterygium also have subtle differences in treatments, and they can both benefit from sunlight protection for eyes. Mild pingueculitis symptoms such as foreign body sensation can be eased by lubricating eye drops. Steroid eye drops or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be prescribed to relieve serious inflammation and swelling. And more severe conditions of pingueculae require surgical removal.

Treatments for pterygium depend on its size and symptom. For small or slightly inflamed pterygia, lubricants or a mild steroid eye drop is enough, while severe pterygium needs surgical removal. A pterygium procedure can be operated either in the doctor’s office or an operating room and involves various available techniques. An eyelid speculum help you open the eye during the removal process, which lasts less than an hour. Pterygia may reoccur even after a surgical removal at a chance between 3% and 40%. The surgeon may suture or glue a piece of surface eye tissue onto the affected area, in order to reduce the recurrence rate. Drugs such as mitomycin can also be prescribed to slow metabolic processes.