Suture Less and Glue Free Conjunctival Autograft in Pterygium Surgery

Objective: To report complications and recurrence rate of pterygium excision after suture less and glue free conjunctival autograft. Methods: This prospective and quasi experimental study was carried out from January 2017 to December 2017 in the Department of Ophthalmology department of Baqai Medical University, hospital.Patients were recruited with consecutive sampling techniques. Patients 16 years of age or above with primary progressive pterygium, 2 mm or more encroaching cornea,and interfering with the vision were included. Patients who had not given consent for the procedure, had recurrent pterygium, old central corneal opacities, severe dryness, and poor vision secondary to other causes like glaucoma were excluded from the study. All the patients were operated under sub tenon's anesthesia by the two surgeons, pterygium was excised with a surgical blade, and a conjunctival autograft taken from the superior limbus was placed without suture and glue. Primary outcomes measures included graft loss, granuloma, and any other complications noted within six months. Recurrence was also noted at 6 months. Results: There were 30 eyes of 22 patients with nasal pterygium. There were 4 females (18.18%) and 18 male patients (81.81%). The mean age was 31.28 years +/- 9.4 SD. The right eye was seen in 16 (53%) cases. The mean pterygium size was 2.87 from the limbus. The complications which were recorded in 6 months period of time were graft loss in 1 patient (4.5%), conjunctival pyogenic granuloma in 1 patient (4.5%), and graft retraction was seen in 1 (4.5%) case. The recurrence rate was none at 6 months postoperatively. Conclusion: Conjunctival autograft without suture and glue is a simple technique that can be done with minimal expenses and limited resources. It has fewer complications and no recurrence rate.