Evaluating surgical outcome of pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft using autologous blood: Can it be a new norm?

Abstract

To evaluate the surgical outcome of use of autologous blood as an adhesive agent in pterygium excision with conjunctival auto-grafting. To observe the effectiveness of autologous blood adherence on the scleral bed and to know whether autologous blood technique can be made as a standard procedure in pterygium surgery or not.The present study is a retrospective observational study. The records of 94 cases of primary pterygium surgery done during August 2022- January 2023 were taken. All patients underwent comprehensive ocular examination pertinent to the disease. Pterygium was dissected and remaining subconjunctival pterygium tissue was separated and excised. The conjunctival limbal auto-graft was taken secured in place by autologous blood and dressing done. Follow-up was done on second post operative day,1st week and 1 month. The study displayed excellent surgical outcome with minimal post operative complications, which too resolved in a week. The most common complication was subconjunctival hemorrhage in 38 cases followed by graft edema in 32 cases. Though graft displacement was observed in 4 cases, they were later rearranged successfully. We did not observe even a single graft loss in our study.Pterygium excision with conjunctival auto-grafting with autologous blood is very safe, less time consuming, easy to perform with less learning curve, economical with excellent postoperative outcome and most importantly more patient satisfaction, thus, making it equivalent to or rather superior to other comparable procedures.