Long-term follow-up of pterygium surgery using a conjunctival autograft and tissucol

PURPOSE: To evaluate the rate of recurrence and to detect pre- or postoperative complications in pterygium surgery using fibrin glue to attach the conjunctival autograft. METHODS: Retrospective case series. In a period of 20 months, 35 patients were operated on for a pterygium using a conjunctival autograft, of which 7 patients were operated (20%) for a recurrent pterygium. The autograft was glued with Tissucol Duo 500, a human tissue glue. Follow-up was at least 1 year. RESULTS: Mean age was 50.4 years (range, 23-80 years), 18 women and 17 men. Success rate was 97.1%. In 1 patient with a primary pterygium, the lesion recurred after 4 months (2.9%). One autograft was lost on the first postoperative day. No other pre- or postoperative problems were encountered. CONCLUSIONS: The use of Tissucol fibrin glue seems to be a safe, easy, and effective technique for attaching the conjunctival autograft in pterygium surgery. The recurrence rate of the procedure is low.