A comparative study on pterygium excision and glue free limbal conjunctival autograft with and without suture

Aim: A comparative study on pterygium excision and glue free limbal conjunctival autograft with and without suture. Materials and Methods: 50 patients of primary nasal pterygium attending ophthalmology OPD in Rotary Hospital, Sirsi, Karnataka were randomly selected. The study was conducted during the period from June 2015 to January 2016. All patients were divided randomly into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 25 patients who underwent suture less, glue free limbal conjunctival autograft and Group 2 consisted of 25 patients who underwent limbal conjunctival autograft with suturing. Clinical data of all patients which included age, sex, laterality of pterygium as well as a history of other diseases, were obtained by reviewing the medical records and direct patient interview. All patients were subjected to detail comprehensive ophthalmic examination which included visual acuity, refraction, slit lamp biomicroscopy, measurement of IOP, extra ocular movements and dilated funduscopy. Results: In this study 50 primary nasal pterygium who underwent Surgery were assessed. Of 50 patients, 35 were male and 15 were female patients. The age of patients ranged from 30 years to 65 years. In our study mean Surgical time in Group A (n=25) was 20+1.5 min. as compared to Group B (n=25) which was 30+2 min. Early post-operative signs and symptoms like pain, foreign body sensation, hyperemia and chemosis were significantly less in Group A as compared to Group B. There was no significant difference is complication rate seen among to group except for graft retraction which was seen in Group A. Both groups achieved good visual acuity after 4 weeks. Both groups had no recurrence of pterygium. Conclusion: Among the two techniques Suture less and glue free limbal conjunctival autograft is easy to perform and it is safe, effective and economical.