I recently had a pterygium removed from my left eye. I contemplated ignoring the growth and hoped that it would "go away" however, after much research I learnt that this is not something that goes away on its own and can only be removed by surgery.
I read some fairly gruesome stories on-line. Patients who were in pain (due to the sutures in the eye) for up to a week plus after surgery. Some who experienced a high degree of pain when being in the light, double vision for weeks after the surgery and other complications.
I was pretty scared to say the least.
I met with Dr Peter Montgomery at the Gold coast Eye Clinic for a consultation and choose to opt for the surgery. I can say from experience that for anyone that is able to travel to the gold coast to have your surgery preformed by Dr Montgomery, I highly recommend you do.
My operation was performed under a General Anesthetic which I would have only considered as I could not have coped being awake while this type of surgery was being performed.
After the surgery I felt some discomfort from the sutures which is normal considering you have just had surgery on your eye. However the next day I was expecting some degree of pain but I felt very minimal discomfort. I was able to open my eyes easily and could see clearly. The eye was obviously red and unsightly but the pain was next to nothing.
If you do have a pterygium and are considering surgery get it done sooner rather than later don't let it continue to grow too big. I believe my positive experience was due to my pterygium being fairly small and only at the beginning stages of growth and my surgeon's extensive experience in these operations. Don't be scared you will be much happier once your eye is white & bright again.
