A pterygium is a fleshy pink scar tissue that sometimes crosses the cornea (the clear front window of the eye). One or both eyes may be involved and a patient can have more than one pterygium in each eye. Pterygiums can vary in size from small to large and are often visible on the eye before they cause symptoms. If you have a pterygium, it may feel like something foreign is in the eye and it can cause irritation, itchiness, and a burning sensation. If the pterygium grows large enough, it can also distort the cornea, causing blurred vision.
Initially, the conjunctiva will thicken and look like a bump. This is called a pingueculum, the initial stage of a pterygium. Chronic irritation or excessive exposure to UV light may cause the lesion to extend onto the cornea. Most pterygiums are slow growing and rarely cause significant problems like vision loss. Over time however, the growth of a pterygium can cause astigmatism. Pterygiums are treated with medications or surgery not only because the discomfort they cause, but also for cosmetic purposes. Dr. Linda Vu is a very experienced pterygium surgeon and during your FREE consultation, she can answer any questions you may have.
Causes and Risk Factors of Pterygiums
Although the cause of pterygiums is not completely understood, prolonged exposure to ultraviolet and infrared radiation from sunlight have been implicated. Other chronic irritants, such as dust and wind, may play a role as well. Pterygiums have also been genetically linked, as can be seen by their presence among members of the same family.
Preventative Measures
Since the exact cause of pterygiums is unknown, nothing can be done to prevent you from developing a lesion. However, there are multiple preventative measures that can help stop or slow their growth. It is possible to stop the growth of pinguecula and prevent them from turning into pterygiums by lubricating the eyes with artificial tears and shielding them from the sunlight. Excessive dry and irritated eyes are perfect environments for growing pterygiums.
Pterygium Symptoms
Pterygiums are seen on the surface of the eye and visibly noticeable even before they cause symptoms. Although some people constantly feel like they have a foreign body in their eye, most are asymptomatic early on. The eyes can become red, irritated, itchy, and experience a burning sensation. Because the lids can no longer spread the tears over a smooth area, dry areas may result, which in turn causes even more irritation that promotes the continual growth of the pterygium. If a pterygium reaches a large size, it can also stretch and distort the cornea inducing some astigmatism.
Pterygium Treatment
The need for pterygium or pingueculum treatment depends on the patient’s symptoms, and his or her tolerance of those symptoms. If a patient does not have any discomfort then there is no need for treatment. In the majority of cases however, pterygiums and even pinguecula tend to cause irritation, especially in the summer months. If this is the case, then patients should consider treatment. Non-surgical treatments help patients cope with the symptoms of pterygiums but they do not remove the pterygiums. The only way to completely remove a pterygium is with surgery.
Non-surgical Treatment
Artificial tears can be used to relieve the sensation of a foreign body in the eye and they also protect against dryness. If the pterygium is small but becomes inflamed, our doctor may prescribe a mild anti-inflammatory eye drop to reduce swelling and redness. Patients should always wear UV protection when outdoors to prevent further irritation and growth caused by ultraviolet light from the sun.
Surgical Treatment
Surgery to remove pterygiums is advisable when the effect on the cornea causes visual problems or excessive discomfort. Sometimes surgical removal is also performed for cosmetic purposes. Surgery is performed in the office under local anesthesia. It is necessary to remove all thickened scar tissue during surgery. There is more than a 50% risk of the pterygium returning, unless we take additional steps to prevent regrowth. The most common additional step is removing an unaffected piece of white tissue and grafting it into the area where the pterygium was removed. Studies have shown that the “graft” technique lowers pterygium recurrence rate to less than 5%.
Cost of PterygiumCarnosidad Surgery in Los Angeles
The cost to remove your pterygium(s) depends on many factors including:
- The size and thickness of the pterygium
- The location of the pterygium
- The number of pterygiums you have in each eye
- Whether you have enough natural tissue to perform a graft or whether an amniotic membrane graft is necessary
- Whether you had previous surgery to remove your pterygium
We recommend that you come in for a free consultation so that Dr. Vu can look at your eye(s) and determine the best treatment plan for your specific case.
Medical Insurance
Patients who have private insurance can use it to help cover a portion of their surgery. Every policy is different and we can check your benefits when you come in for your free consultation. Our office accepts the majority of PPO insurances and a number of HMO plans.
No Medical Insurance
For patients without insurance, we offer 0% interest financing through Wells Fargo to make surgery more affordable. You can click on the link below to apply for financing and get your approval right away. If you mention where you heard about us, you will be eligible for our $500 special discount towards your pterygium removal.
Llame ahora para su consulta de Carnosidad gratis!
Una carnosidad o pterigión es un tejido cicatrizado rosado carnoso que a veces cruza la córnea (la ventana frontal del ojo). Carnosidades pueden variar en tamaño y son a menudo visibles en el ojo antes de que causar síntomas. Una carnosidad puede sentirse como si algo extraño está en el ojo y puede causar irritación, picazón y sensación de ardor. La irritación crónica o la exposición excesiva a los rayos ultravioletas pueden causar que la lesión se extienda sobre la córnea. La mayoría de carnosidades crecen lentamente y rara vez causan problemas significativos como la pérdida de visión. Con el tiempo, sin embargo, el crecimiento de una carnosidad puede causar astigmatismo. Carnosidades se tratan con medicamentos o cirugía no sólo debido a las molestias que causan, sino también por razones cosméticas. La Dra. Linda Vu es una cirujana muy experimentada con la carnosidad y durante su consulta gratis, puede responder cualquier pregunta que usted tenga.
Cómo Evitar la Carnosidad
Hay varias medidas preventivas que pueden ayudar a detener o retardar su crecimiento, como la lubricación de los ojos con lágrimas artificiales y protección de la luz del sol con gafas del sol polarizadas. Ojos excesivamente secos e irritados son perfectos ambientes para el crecimiento de la carnosidad.
Tratamiento de Carnosidad
Los tratamientos no quirúrgicos ayudan a los pacientes a lidiar con los síntomas de la carnosidad pero no la eliminan. La única manera de completamente remover una carnosidad es con cirugía. Es necesario remover todo el tejido grueso cicatrizado durante la cirugía. Hay un riesgo de más del 50% de que la carnosidad vuelva si no se toman medidas adicionales para prevenir la recurrencia. El paso adicional más común es remover un pedazo de tejido blanco no afectado e injertarlo en el área donde se removió la carnosidad. Estudios han demostrado que la técnica de “injerto” reduce la probabilidad de recurrencia de carnosidad a menos del 5%.
Procedimiento de Carnosidad
Costo de Cirugía de Carnosidad en Los Angeles
El costo de remover la carnosidad depende de muchos factores, entre ellos:
- El tamaño, que tan gruesa, y la ubicación de la carnosidad
- Si usted tuvo una cirugía previa para remover la carnosidad
請即預約您的翼狀胬肉免費個人諮詢
翼狀胬肉是粉紅色的疤痕組織，增長有時伸展至眼角膜（眼睛的前面）。翼狀胬肉的大小不同，常在顯示症狀前已經可見。具有翼狀胬肉的患者可能會感到有異物在眼睛。翼狀胬肉可能會導致紅腫、發癢、有灼熱感。慢性刺激或過度紫外線照射可能會導致胬肉增長，並病變延伸到角膜。大多數翼狀胬肉生長緩慢，很少會導致顯著的問題如視力減退。然而隨著時間，翼狀胬肉的生長可引起散光。利用藥物或手術治療各項的翼狀胬肉不僅因為胬肉們造成不適，同時也為改善美觀效果。傅白蘭醫生是一個富有經驗治療翼狀胬肉的外科醫生。在您的免費諮詢中，她可以回答您的問題 。
如何避免翼狀胬肉
有多種預防措施可有助於阻止或減緩翼狀胬肉生長速度，如用人工淚液和使用偏光太陽眼鏡。眼睛過度乾燥和受刺激會促進翼狀胬肉發展。
去除翼狀胬肉
非手術治療可以幫助患者應付翼狀胬肉的症狀，但這些方法不能除去翼狀胬肉。只有手術才能徹底消除翼狀胬肉。在手術過程中，必須去除所有變厚的疤痕組織。翼狀胬肉有超過五成的再生風險，但我們可以採取額外的步驟，以防止胬肉再生。最常見的額外步驟是移植一塊不受影響的白色組織，接枝到翼狀胬肉被除去的區域。研究顯示，進行「移植」技術後翼狀胬肉復發率降低到小於5％。
翼狀胬肉手術
在洛杉磯翼狀胬肉手術的費用
切除翼狀胬肉的費用視乎許多因素，包括：
- 翼狀胬肉大小、厚度、和位置，還有多少塊胬肉
- 您以前是否曾有切除翼狀胬肉的手術