title: Reconstruction of the limbal vasculature after limbal-conjunctival autograft transplantation in pterygium surgery: an angiography study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the angiographic features of the affected limbus in patients with pterygia and assessed limbal reconstruction outcomes after limbal-conjunctival autograft (LCA) transplantation in terms of vascular remodeling.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied prospectively 31 eyes of 31 patients who underwent pterygium excision and LCA transplantation; 28 eyes of 28 normal participants served as controls. Anterior segment indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) was performed for each participant preoperatively and at 1 week, and 1 and 3 months postoperatively. The perioperative angiographic features of the pterygium were compared to those in normal eyes. The structural changes of the marginal corneal vascular arcades (MCAs) and LCA were quantitatively assessed postoperatively in terms of vascular density and lacunarity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Deteriorated MCAs that extended beyond the pterygium head were observed in the pterygium group. The pterygium had a dual blood supply from the conjunctival and episcleral circulations. In terms of limbal reconstruction, the engorged reperfusion vessels arose from the adjacent episcleral vessels along the limbus at 1 week postoperatively. The reconstructed MCAs had begun to appear at 1 month postoperatively and became apparent 3 months postoperatively in 26 (83.9%) of 31 eyes of the pterygium group, resulting in a successful clinical outcome. Higher vascular density and lower lacunarity were measured in the limbus and the graft at 3 months than at 1 month (P < 0.001 for all), which indicated fine reorganization of the reconstructed vessels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pterygium had a dual blood supply, and the remodeling of the affected limbus and LCA continued up to 3 months postoperatively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Joon
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Kwon
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000637:transplantation*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D016850:Limbus Corneae / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011625:Pterygium / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
keywords: indocyanine green angiography; limbal-conjunctival autograft; marginal corneal vascular arcades; pterygium