Proparacaine; Efficacy as a topical anesthetic in pterygium surgery

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the efficacy of proparacaine 0.5% as a topical anesthetic in pterygium surgery. Quasi-Experimental study. Eye Unitll, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur, from December 2010 to April 2011. Thirty patients affected by primary pterygium undenwent pterygium excision under topical anesthesia using proparacaine 0.5% eye drops. Pterygium excision was performed along with dissection of the degenerative conjunctival tissue, scraping of the corneal surface with surgical blade N0.15, meticulous dissection of the underlying Tenon's capsule, preparation of a free conjunctival graft from the superotemporal sector of healthy conjunctiva, and positioning of this graft to the area of bare sclera using 6/0 vicryl suture. Computer software SPSS [version 10] was used to analyze the data. Results were considered statistically significant at p<0.05. lt was possible to perform all the procedure under topical anesthesia using 0.5% Proparacaine eye drops without a need of supplemental subconjunctival or peribulbar anesthesia. Pain reported by the patients, recorded by a Visual Analog Scale [VAS] with 0-4 grades, and was mild to moderate during the entire surgical procedure. Topical proparacaine 0.5% is a safe and effective anesthetic in pterygium surgery. The long lasting anesthesia with this agent permits performing the surgical procedure with low pain felt by the patients with a resultant low surgical invasivity anda short duration of surgery.