Assessment of conjunctival autograft reperfusion after pterygium surgery by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A)

Purpose

To investigate the healing process of conjunctival autografts (CAG) following pterygium surgery using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods

Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients diagnosed with pterygium underwent pterygium excision with CAG without using Mitomycin-C. Over a 12-week follow-up period, changes in vascular density (VD), vascular density index (VDI), and vascular length density (VLD) were assessed at two distinct depths: superficial (<200 μm) and deep (>200 μm) using OCTA. Additionally, the revascularization rate and pattern were evaluated.

Results

During the first week, the CAG was edematous and no sign of neovascularization was observed. In 4th week edema decreased and early signs of vascular formation appeared. In the 12th week, the deep vasculature demonstrated a greater density of interconnectivity compared to the superficial layers. VD and VLD significantly increased during the follow-up period (P < 0.05). The CAG blood flow signals exhibited a chaotic pattern, deviating from the expected centrifugal vascular pattern in the surrounding normal conjunctiva.

Conclusion

OCTA imaging emerges as a reliable tool for the assessment of CAG vascularization, improving the monitoring of the healing process in the postoperative period. The evaluation of CAG revascularization patterns appears to be promising biomarkers that can predict the potential future recurrence.