Impact of fibrin glue versus suture closure on double-headed pterygia in Asian eyes–a 7-year study in a tertiary institution

Abstract

Background: To compare the recurrence rate and outcomes of double-headed pterygia using fibrin glue versus suture closure of conjunctival autograft. Methods: All patients with double-headed pterygia who underwent pterygia excision with conjunctival autograft from January 2012 to January 2019 in the National University Hospital of Singapore were included. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on whether fibrin glue or sutures were used to secure the conjunctival autograft in place. All patients had a minimum of 6 months follow-up. Results: A total (26 patients) of 22 eyes had fibrin glue, while eight eyes underwent suture closure of their conjunctival autograft. Fibrin glue group had 4.5% recurrence rate, while suture group had 37.5% recurrence rate (p =.021). There is statistically significant improvement for overall visual acuity (p =.009) and cylinder (p =.002). There is also statistically significant improvement for visual acuity in the glue group (p =.026), but not in the suture group. Fibrin glue group had a shorter operation duration time compared to suture group (p