AIM: To observe the effect and clinical significance of alcohol pretreatment during the pterygium surgery.

METHODS: Totally 300 eyes with pterygium were randomly divided into two groups. Control group: 142 eyes with pterygium were peeled under local anethesia and their degenerative organization of pterygium was cleaned up followed by a transplantation of corneal limbus with an autologous conjunctival flap. Experimental group: 158 eyes with pterygium were placed with a special metal ring used in LASEK on the head of pterygium to isolate the treatment area under local anesthesis, then, the treatment area within the ring was filled with the alcohol with a concentration of 200mL/L for 40-60s, followed by an adequate flushing with saline. Subsequent surgical procedure was the same as control group.

RESULTS: Follow-up for all patients ranged from 1 month to 3 years. Postoperatively, 158 eyes of experimental group had better operative effect than control group. Experimental group had better would healing, complete tissue construction, and improved visual quality. The break-up time of tear film for experimental group was significantly prolonged than that for control group. The average corneal astigmatism and total higher-order aberrations of experimental group were significantly lower than that of control group. The recurrence rate of experimental group was also significantly lower than control group. There's no significant difference in the incidence of complications.

CONCLUSION: Alcohol pretreatment during the pterygium surgery is a safe and effective method.