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*Based on both eyes being treated. One eye singularly is £2000
020 7183 3725 Book a ConsultationA healthy eye has an all-white background. But when a pink fleshy tissue begins to form on the sclera (white part of the eye) and spread to the cornea, pterygium sets in. This condition is relatively common and typically shows up on the side of the eye that is very close to the nose. The growth is usually not harmful and typically does not need treatment. However should you discover that the tissue is growing rapidly in size, please see a doctor as soon as possible to prevent loss of vision and potentially significant injury to the eye.
To understand more about this eye condition and how pterygium surgery can be of immense help, this page will reveal what you should know about the symptoms, causes, treatment options, and the fees for pterygium surgery. This information will help you understand this optical disorder better.
Several factors can trigger this eye condition. They include the following:
Pterygium can grow and spread slowly throughout your life or it may stop at some point. Pterygium will not go away on its own. A small pterygium may never cause problems for the eye as long as it stops growing. In most cases, the only way to completely remove a pterygium is with surgery.
Should you be experiencing this problem, a tissue growth with the shape of a wedge will be visible on your eye. This will make you feel like there is something in your eye.
Other accompanying symptoms may include:
Patients do experience more discomfort following the growth and spread of pterygium. You would do well to avoid touching your eyes as much as possible until a doctor or consultant examines your eye and diagnoses the problem professionally.
Until the pterygium begins to develop into the cornea, you may still be able to see clearly. But when it encroaches the cornea to a great extent, your vision will become fuzzy and disoriented. In developed countries around the world, the issue of reduced vision is not very common. It may happen when the tissue grows towards the core of the cornea, or as a result of refractive astigmatism. Whatever the case, keep an eye out for these signs and symptoms and report to your doctor the moment you notice anything unusual in relation to your eyes.
Should you feel that you already have a pterygium and need to be treated, come to Optimal Vision for a proper diagnosis, and we will discuss several treatment options that you can have to resolve the issue.
Pterygium can block or blur your vision if it continues to grow across your cornea. Sometimes pterygium can scar your cornea, but this is rare. The scarring can be treated if it’s minor. If the scarring is major, damage to your corneal can cause blindness. It’s technically possible but rare that pterygium would result in blindness. Cases are usually minor or treated with medication or surgery if needed.
You can lower your risk of developing pterygium, slow its growth if you have one, or help prevent its return after surgery if you:
Your eye care provider can diagnose pterygium with a slit lamp. A slip lamp is a type of microscope that focuses a narrow line of bright light on your eye. It helps your provider look at the front and inside of your eye. A slit lamp exam is a normal part of an eye exam.
Other eye tests your provider may perform include:
Your provider may also take pictures of your eye to track changes in the growth of pterygium over time. Your eye care provider may order other tests to rule out other conditions, including cancers that affect the eye.
Where the growth is stable and not progressive, there is usually no danger, and treatment may not be necessary. Should there be any form of discomfort like itchiness, lubricating eye drops can relieve the symptoms. Do not be persuaded into thinking that if the pterygium is not causing any problems now, it may not do so later on. To be on the safe side, always get your eyes checked from time to time to know its condition and how it is or isn’t progressing. Should your eyesight be affected by this condition, the option to have it removed via surgery is always readily available.
Should it require surgery for excision, you may have to undergo the procedure under local or general anaesthetic, just like so many surgeries. However, this solely depends on the pterygium size, where the pterygium is located, your choice and the recommendation of your treating surgeon.
During the procedure, your surgeon will take out the pterygium using very tiny surgical instruments. From there, they will carry out an autograft. This involves taking tissue from a portion of normal conjunctiva to cover up the space created by the excised pterygium. Typically, this tissue will be taken from the part of the eye covered by the eyelid. Using biodegradable stitches that will dissolve some time post-surgery, the graft is sewn into position. There is also stitch-free options but this will be decided by your treating surgeon. In this case the graft is glued into position.
The most efficient style of carrying out this surgery is referred to as the conjunctival auto grafting. It is this technique most surgeons use. The perk of this method is that it lowers the risk of recurrence, which is a prevalent pterygium surgery complication, to less than 5%. So it is relatively safe.
There are several surgical strategies. They include:
Your surgeon will numb your eye with local anaesthesia. You will be given light sedation. The pterygium is carefully removed from your eye.
If you’re having surgery with an amniotic membrane, the membrane is cut to the proper size and placed to cover the area where the pterygium was removed. A special glue or stitches hold the amniotic membrane in place.
If you’re having an autograft surgery, your surgeon removes a section of conjunctiva from under your eyelid to cover the opening. A special glue or stitches hold the new tissue in place while it heals.
Surgery typically lasts between thirty minutes - one hour.
You’ll likely wear an eye patch over your eye for a couple of days.
You’ll apply prescribed steroid eye drops to the affected eye for a few weeks or months. These eye drops help reduce inflammation and the chance of the growth returning.
You can return to your normal daily activities in a few days.
You and your surgeon will monitor for pterygium recurrence. This is most likely to happen in the first 12 months after surgery.
Risks and complications of surgery include:
To have the pterygium removed with Optimal Vision will cost as low as £1750 per eye - this is based on both eyes so £3500 for both eyes. Alternatively to have only one eye treated will cost £2,000.
We offer a 0% finance*** for patients who need any of our eye surgical treatments. With this, you can pay more conveniently by spreading payment over several months if needed.
An initial £500 will need to be paid upfront to secure the surgery booking, and the remaining fee spread over either 6, 10 or 12 months depending on which is convenient for you at a 0% interest rate***.
See us today to know how we can be of help to you and how our convenient system of payment can help.
Just like we said earlier, the most typical complication linked with pterygium surgery is a pterygium recurrence (after removing the tissue growth, it begins to develop again).
At Optimal Vision, our surgeons employ the suture-less glue method. This approach lowers the complication of recurrence to a percent. It might interest you to know that our professional corneal surgeons have recorded tremendous successes in performing so many pterygium surgeries.
Apart from that, see other reasons why we stand out for this treatment:
Knowing the danger of surgery from less experienced surgeons, we encourage you to seek the best in the industry. We are happy to say that we have carefully selected and retained only dedicated and highly successful surgeons with a heart for treating patients optimally at our practice.
Our surgeons have received the best training at the best centres in London and around the world. So, we have the requisite experience, knowledge, and skills to perform this operation successfully. Holding their heads high in excellent training for cornea, refractive, and cataract surgery, our surgeons have a very high level of surgical skills.
At the helm of operations at our practice, are well-trained consultants with decades of experience in pterygium surgery. We pride in our ability to give the best form of eye treatment depending on what your case requires. Patients get customised treatment plans for specific needs, followed by great care and support after treatment.
Laser eye surgery and lens surgery are done using the latest technology and tools in the industry. Same goes for pterygium surgery. We have all that is needed to perform a painless and effective tissue excision to bring back the health of your eye. What we do at Optimal Vision is combine the best optical technology with the best hands in surgery to repair any damage that has been done to the eye. It's a painstaking effort, but we do it because we are passionate about delivering only one thing - excellent eye care services!
You can visit our central clinic in London for your eye treatment. We are available at all times for your eye treatment consultation. Our opening times are Monday to Saturday 10-6pm. We are closed Sunday.
If you can't come in person to our clinic, you can get our professional help via video consultation. This is available for both patients who are insured and those paying from their pockets. Just like your regular video call, you will get to speak with our surgeon to know more about your eye condition. Please let us know if you prefer this option.
We are always delighted to see patients return home with their eye condition restored to normalcy thanks to our dedication to excellence and highly advanced practitioners and technology!
If you are having problems with your eyesight and would like diagnostic tests and possible treatment options, feel free to contact us today.
Dr Mani has performed more than 20,000 ophthalmic procedures, including LASIK, LASEK, PRK, Femto Cataract, RLE, Lens ICL and Phakic IOL Surgery
I had a great experience performing my laser eye surgery at Optimal Vision Clinic. All the staffs are very helpful, co-operative and supportive throughout the treatment process. On the first call, they explained the entire procedure in details and gave necessary instructions at every stage. My eye surgeon made me feel comfortable and relaxed before and during the procedure. Aftercare was done properly with a thorough check-up of my eyes. I would like to recommend this clinic to everyone!
Very happy and impressed with the highly professional care and service I’ve received at the Optimal Vision clinic. Dr Mani is so professional, and he explained everything about Laser surgery and answered all my questions. The surgery was quick and almost completely painless. My eyes have healed perfectly and quickly. I would highly recommend this clinic.
My husband had been experiencing discomfort in his left eye since July and was seen by various doctors/consultants even at the Queen Mary’s hospital but no abnormalities were found.
This week Dr. Mani discovered the fault which happened to be Retina detachment with three tears.
Dr. Mani’s preciseness and his perfectionist attitude to attention to details, detected the source of the main issue and saved my husband’s eye. We feel utterly grateful and can not recommend him enough for his excellence.
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