{"id":10394,"date":"2026-10-30T10:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T08:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/?p=10394"},"modified":"2026-10-30T10:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T08:00:22","slug":"pterygium-what-it-is-how-to-remove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/2026\/10\/eye-surgery\/pterygium-what-it-is-how-to-remove\/","title":{"rendered":"Pterygium: What It Is and How to Remove It for Good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In sunny, coastal regions like ours (especially in exposed areas such as <strong>Torre del Mar<\/strong> or inland in the province of C\u00f3rdoba), it is very common to see adults develop a small lump or whitish, fleshy tissue on the white surface of the eye (the sclera) that gradually advances towards the cornea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This mucocutaneous lesion is technically known as a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/eye-problems\/pterygium-and-pinguecula\/\">pterygium<\/a><\/strong> and is popularly called &#8220;surfer&#8217;s eye&#8221;. Although in its early stages it is usually considered merely a cosmetic nuisance or a minor irritation, if the pterygium keeps growing it can distort the cornea and significantly affect your vision. At <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/our-clinics\/\">Cl\u00ednica Ram\u00edrez &amp; G\u00e1lvez<\/a><\/strong>, we explain what causes this condition and how modern autograft surgery removes it cleanly and durably, with minimal risk of recurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why does a pterygium appear? The environmental factors \ud83e\uddd0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pterygium is not a malignant tumour or a dangerous cyst, but an abnormal, inflammatory growth of the <strong>conjunctiva<\/strong> (the transparent membrane covering the eye) that invades the cornea (the transparent &#8220;window&#8221; at the front of the eye).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main cause of its development is continued, unprotected exposure to environmental factors that are harsh on the ocular surface:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ultraviolet (UV) radiation:<\/strong> The sun is the number one trigger. UV radiation damages the stem cells in the corneal limbus, disrupting tissue repair and stimulating the invasive growth of the conjunctiva.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wind and dryness:<\/strong> Constant wind speeds up the evaporation of the tear film, keeping the eye in a state of chronic inflammation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dust, sand and salt spray:<\/strong> Elements that are very common on beaches or in outdoor work and irritate the ocular surface day after day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this reason, it is particularly common among farmers, outdoor sportspeople, sailors and people who spend a lot of time exposed to the midday sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Common symptoms: from irritation to blurred vision \ud83d\udca1<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pterygium usually forms on the side of the eye closest to the nose and slowly advances towards the centre of the pupil. As it progresses, it produces very distinct symptoms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Red, inflamed eye:<\/strong> The tissue contains numerous dilated blood vessels, making the eye look irritated and congested.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Foreign body sensation:<\/strong> A constant feeling of grit, rubbing or something foreign inside the eye.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stinging and watery eyes:<\/strong> Recurring discomfort made worse by heat, air conditioning or reading.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Induced astigmatism:<\/strong> As it grows over the cornea, the pterygium &#8220;pulls&#8221; on it and distorts its natural curvature, causing blurred vision or progressive astigmatism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Direct loss of vision:<\/strong> In very advanced cases where the tissue covers the pupil (the central visual axis), it causes a severe loss of visual acuity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Treatment: from eye drops to autograft surgery \ud83d\udd2c<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the pterygium is small and only causes mild discomfort, medical treatment consists of preservative-free artificial tears and anti-inflammatory eye drops prescribed by the ophthalmologist to reduce irritation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, eye drops do not make the tissue disappear. When the pterygium grows, causes astigmatism, leads to frequent inflammatory flare-ups or is cosmetically unsatisfactory, the only definitive treatment is <strong>surgery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The key to success: pterygium surgery with conjunctival autograft<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, surgery was limited to &#8220;scraping&#8221; or excising the pterygium and leaving the area bare. That technique had an extremely high recurrence rate (in up to 50% of cases the tissue grew back more aggressively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, at <strong>Cl\u00ednica Ram\u00edrez &amp; G\u00e1lvez<\/strong> we use the advanced technique of <strong>excision with conjunctival autograft<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Clean resection:<\/strong> All the fibrovascular tissue of the pterygium is carefully removed and the cornea is polished.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Healthy autograft:<\/strong> A small piece of healthy conjunctiva is taken from the patient&#8217;s own eye (usually from the upper area, hidden by the eyelid), which contains healthy stem cells.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sealing with tissue adhesive:<\/strong> We place the graft over the bare area. To avoid uncomfortable stitches, we use biological glues (fibrin adhesives) that secure the graft in seconds, speed up healing, reduce post-operative discomfort to almost zero and lower the recurrence rate to less than 2\u20133%.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prevention and care in Lucena and Torre del Mar \ud83c\udfe5<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prevention remains the best tool against pterygium. Wearing <strong>certified UV400 sunglasses<\/strong> with side protection, together with good tear hydration, is essential to prevent it from appearing or to slow its growth if it has already started to form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At both our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/iG1Huqcoi8QaQHX1C\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lucena<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/xpRzjY25vWHiR4I9u\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Torre del Mar<\/a><\/strong> clinics, our team of ophthalmic surgeons assesses how your pterygium is progressing using corneal topography and biomicroscopy, to determine whether it needs conservative treatment or whether the time is right for a clean, definitive surgical solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking after the health and appearance of your eyes&#8217; surface is the best way to keep your eyes healthy, white and comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Have you noticed a small fleshy lump on your eye, a constantly red eye or a gritty feeling?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> Don&#8217;t wait until it affects your vision! <a href=\"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/contact\/\">Book your check-up<\/a> at our clinics in Lucena or Torre del Mar and restore comfort to your eyes. \ud83d\udcc5\u2728<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In sunny, coastal regions like ours (especially in exposed areas such as Torre del Mar or inland in the province of C\u00f3rdoba), it is very common to see adults develop a small lump or whitish, fleshy tissue on the white surface of the eye (the sclera) that gradually advances towards the cornea. This mucocutaneous lesion [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[147,128,140,141],"tags":[182,187,79,185,183,186,184],"class_list":["post-10394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eye-health","category-eye-surgery","category-oculoplastic-surgery","category-ophthalmology","tag-conjunctival-autograft","tag-eye-health","tag-lucena","tag-pterygium","tag-pterygium-surgery","tag-solar-radiation","tag-surfers-eye"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10394"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10740,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10394\/revisions\/10740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ramirezgalvez.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}