AIM:To evaluate the function of therapeutic contact lenses used in pterygium surgery combined with limbal conjunctival autograft transplantation(LCAT).

METHODS: Prospective randomized controlled study. Ninety-two patients(ninety-two eyes)with primary pterygium who underwent pterygium surgery combined with LCAT in Ophthalmology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from November 2017 to October 2018. The patients were randomly divided into a therapeutic contact lenses group and a tight bandage group. The corneal epithelial wounds were observed on the 1^st, 4^th, and 7^th day after operation by slit lamp microscope. Then, the postoperative pain was evaluated by the visual analog scale. Last, the questionnaire was used to evaluate the eye comfort level.

RESULTS:There was no significant difference in corneal epithelial healing between the two groups on the first and seventh day after surgery. On the fourth day after surgery, the corneal epithelial healing was better in the therapeutic contact lenses group than in the tight bandage group(P<0.05). In addition, the postoperative pain score in the therapeutic contact lenses group was lower than that in the tight bandage group(P<0.05), and the eye comfort level was also higher than that in the tight bandage group(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The therapeutic contact lenses can not only effectively promote corneal epithelial healing, but also effectively reduce pain, improve eye comfort level and improve postoperative quality of life.