title: [Evaluation the change of corneal epithelium thickness after pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft transplantation by Fourier domain optical coherence tomography].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the change of corneal epithelial thickness after pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft transplantation by Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (FD-OCT) .
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two patients (24 eyes) with the diagnosis of primary pterygium were enrolled. They underwent pterygium excision combined with conjunctival autograft transplantation. Twenty-five volunteers (25 eyes) served as the normal control group. FD-OCT was performed preoperatively and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 days postoperatively to measure the thickness of corneal epithelium at 1 mm and 2 mm anterior to the nasal or temporal scleral spur. Corneal fluorescein staining was performed simultaneously. Comparisons on the thickness of corneal epithelium were made between preoperative values and postoperative ones.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The thickness of cornea epithelium at 1 mm anterior to the scleral spur was (43.81 ± 2.55) µm in normal subjects. At day 1 after surgery, corneal epithelial thickness at the same location was (21.28 ± 5.72) µm and then gradually increased to (39.94 ± 5.47) µm at day 7 postoperatively. All the difference on postoperative days had statistically significant (t = -17.69, -14.97, -10.63, -9.86, -3.15, P < 0.05) . The thickness of cornea epithelium at 2 mm anterior to the scleral spur was (40.50 ± 3.17) µm in normal subjects. At day 1 after surgery, corneal epithelial thickness at the same location was (24.02 ± 5.92) µm, and then gradually increased to (940.34 ± 5.69) µm at day 7 postoperatively. All the difference on postoperative days except day 7 had statistically significant (t = -12.08, -10.27, -6.18, -2.99, P < 0.05). Cornea epithelium at this location repaired sooner than that at 1 mm anterior to the scleral spur. At day 1 after surgery, corneal epithelium defect area were (39.31 ± 22.77) mm(2), and then decreased to (1.01 ± 1.72) mm(2) at 7 days (t = 6.68, 5.55, P < 0.05). At day 7 postoperative, 66.7% patients had a complete recovery of corneal epithelium with no fluorescein staining.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FD-OCT was the effective instrument for observing the change of limbus-peripheral cornea epithelium thickness.Within 7 days postoperatively, cornea epithelium restored almost normal. After pterygium surgery, limbus-peripheral cornea epithelium restoration showed the tendency from the central to peripheral cornea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Jiaxu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Xinhan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Yujing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Yujin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology of Eye & ENT Hospital & Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Email: jianjiangxu@126.com.
authors.forename: Jianjiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D064592:Autografts; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000637:transplantation*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D016850:Limbus Corneae; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011625:Pterygium / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous