Conjunctival flap surgery for calcified scleromalacia after cosmetic conjunctivectomy.

[PURPOSE] To investigate the long-term clinical course of scleromalacia with calcified plaque as a complication of cosmetic conjunctivectomy with topical mitomycin C (MMC) application and to introduce a surgical method for this complication using calcified plaque removal and/or conjunctival flap surgery.

[METHODS] Eleven patients (15 eyes, 17 lesions) were included in this retrospective study. The calcified plaque was removed with forceps and pterygium knife, and the thinned scleral lesion was covered with a conjunctival flap from an intact superior or inferior conjunctiva.

[RESULTS] There were no cases of scleral thinning or calcified plaque recurrence in patients who underwent conjunctival flap surgery. The mean interval between previous cosmetic conjunctivectomy with postsurgical topical MMC and the first surgical treatment for complications was 20.0 ± 6.4 months. The mean postoperative follow-up duration after last conjunctival flap surgery or calcified plaque removal was 11.6 ± 4.0 months.

[CONCLUSIONS] Scleral calcification and thinning progress as time passes after cosmetic conjunctivectomy with postsurgical topical MMC. Calcified plaque removal with conjunctival flap surgery can be an effective surgical management for this complication, returning blood supply to a thinned sclera.