Optimal Use of Beta Irradiation in the Treatment of Pterygia

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Abstract
Beta irradiation with strontium 90 has been associated with significant iatrogenic disease, causing such complications as ptosis, symblepharon, iridic and scleral atrophy, cataracts, and endophthalmitis. We studied 171 eyes in 140 patients treated and followed up during a 17-year period from 1973 to 1990. We sought to show that a single small dose of radiation administered immediately after surgical excision not only prevents decrease recurrence, but also avoids significant complication. Pterygia recurred in 14 (8%) of the 171 eyes treated. Six of these recurrences were corneal and eight were conjunctival. Complications were seen in five (3%) of the 171 eyes treated. All were minor except for one case of scleral thinning in a diabetic patient. Optimal radiation dosage to avoid significant recurrence in this adult population is a single dose of 2,000 rads using a bare sclera technique that vaults the limbus.

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