Pterygium (eye growth) removal waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for pterygium (eye growth) removal in Australian public hospitals was 197 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 4 days at Thursday Island Hospital to 443 days at Liverpool Hospital. The source publishes this surgery as "Pterygium - excision of".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for pterygium (eye growth) removal in public hospitals was 197 days in 2024–25, from 2442 surgeries. 15.7% of people waited more than 365 days. 65 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Pterygium - excision of" and type your suburb to see the public hospitals within reach, ordered by their published wait. Nothing you type there is kept.
State by state
Bars show the median wait in days. The vertical line at 197 days marks the national median.
Victoria: 90 days
South Australia: 117 days
Western Australia: 140 days
Queensland: 184 days
New South Wales: 346 days
Northern Territory: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 90 days | 3.4% | 348 surgeries |
| 2 | South Australia | 117 days | 14.5% | 173 surgeries |
| 3 | Western Australia | 140 days | 11.1% | 621 surgeries |
| 4 | Queensland | 184 days | 4.5% | 512 surgeries |
| 5 | New South Wales | 346 days | 32.1% | 735 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | 53 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near the Adelaide CBD · near the Gold Coast · near Liverpool · near Nedlands · near the Perth CBD · near Woolloongabba · and 1 more area on the state pages.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- SA
- WA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | SA (days) | WA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 128 | 74 | not published | 62 |
| 2017–18 | 152 | 70 | 115 | 78 |
| 2018–19 | 125 | 49 | 177 | 83 |
| 2019–20 | 155 | 50 | 190 | 98 |
| 2020–21 | 230 | 147 | 309 | 150 |
| 2021–22 | 238 | 140 | 270 | 154 |
| 2022–23 | 241 | 197 | 203 | 187 |
| 2023–24 | 191 | 132 | 165 | 124 |
| 2024–25 | 197 | 90 | 117 | 140 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for pterygium (eye growth) removal in a public hospital?
The national median was 197 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 90 days in Victoria to 346 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for pterygium (eye growth) removal?
Of the 65 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Thursday Island Hospital reported the shortest median, 4 days, and Liverpool Hospital the longest, 443 days (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). A shorter median is not a recommendation. How to read these figures.
How many people waited more than a year?
15.7% of people who had pterygium (eye growth) removal in an Australian public hospital in 2024–25 waited more than 365 days (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Cite this page
The national median wait for pterygium (eye growth) removal in Australian public hospitals was 197 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Pterygium (eye growth) removal waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/pterygium-excision-of/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/pterygium-excision-of/), from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare MyHospitals data, CC BY 3.0 AU. Reference period 2024–25, released 28 May 2026.
Embed the chart
The state comparison is also published as a standalone image at a stable address — the SVG chart — free to embed or link with the attribution below:
<img src="https://surgerywaits.au/charts/pterygium-excision-of.svg" width="720" height="318" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Pterygium (eye growth) removal by state and territory, 2024–25">What is not here
Public hospitals only. Private hospitals do not report to this collection, so their waiting times cannot be compared here.
The source calls this collection "elective surgery". This site calls it planned surgery, because the surgery is planned in advance rather than optional — the methodology explains the wording.