Case Report

Dystrophic calcification of the sclera following pterygium surgery with adjunctive beta-irradiation: Case report of the surgical management

Roland Höllhumer
African Vision and Eye Health | Vol 79, No 1 | a566 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/aveh.v79i1.566 | © 2020 Roland Hollhumer | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 March 2020 | Published: 21 September 2020

About the author(s)

Roland Höllhumer, Department of Neurosciences, Division of Ophthalmology, St John Eye Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; and, The Cornea Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to report a late complication of adjuvant beta-radiation after pterygium surgery. This is a case report of a 56-year-old black female patient who presented with an infectious scleritis associated with scleral necrosis and dystrophic calcification. She had undergone pterygium surgery with adjuvant beta-irradiation six years before. She was managed with topical antibiotics and patch graft, with a good outcome. Beta-radiation is associated with visually significant long-term complications and should be avoided. We recommend an excision with extended tenonectomy and free autograft as the procedure of choice.

Keywords

pterygium; beta-irradiation; strontium-90; dystrophic calcification; scleritis; scleromalacia

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