AIM: To investigate the changes and clinical significance of corneal parameters and tear film stability after cataract combined with pterygium surgery.

METHODS: The clinical data of 80 patients with cataract and pterygium admitted to our hospital from January to December 2020 were retrospectively studied. All patients underwent pterygium excision + phacoemulsification + intraocular lens implantation + limbal stem cell transplantation. The changes of visual acuity, corneal Pentacam parameters, corneal astigmatism, corneal curvature and tear film stability before and after operation were compared, and the degree deviation of intraocular lens(IOL)was calculated.

RESULTS: At 3mo after operation, the average corneal refractive index and average corneal refractive index of the patients in this group were significantly higher than those before operation. The index of surface variance(ISV)of corneal surface and astigmatism of anterior corneal surface were significantly lower than those before operation, and the indexes of tear film stability were significantly improved compared with those before operation(all P<0.01). At 6mo after operation, the visual acuity of the patients in this group was significantly improved compared with that before operation, and the corneal astigmatism was significantly decreased compared with that before operation, but the corneal curvature was significantly higher than that before operation(all P<0.001). The IOL degree deviation of the patients in this group was -5.5 - +3.5D.

CONCLUSION: Cataract combined with pterygium surgery can effectively improve the visual acuity of patients and improve the stability of tear film, but there may be corneal astigmatism. Therefore, the contralateral corneal refractive power should be used to calculate the IOL degree after pterygium excision. When the corneal refractive state is stable, cataract phacoemulsification is performed to ensure its prognosis.