FIBRIN BANDAGE OF CORNEAL EROSION IN PTERYGIUM SURGERY: A NOVEL METHOD FOR PAIN CONTROL

Purpose: This study compares post-operative pain and recovery time in pterygium surgery using fibrin glue for flap closure as well as corneal bandaging (Fibrin CL group) as opposed to vicryl 7.0 suturing of conjunctival flap without corneal bandaging (No CL group). Methods: A single medical center, randomized, prospective study. Consecutive patients, scheduled for standard pterygium excision surgery were enrolled from 2017 to 2020. Postoperative pain was evaluated with the Brief Pain Inventory at two time points: at 24 hours and one-week post-surgery. Results: A total of 50 eyes of 50 patients who underwent pterygium surgery were enrolled and were included in the final analysis. Mean pain level at one week after surgery was significantly reduced in fibrin corneal bandage group, mean pain score 2.12 in the fibrin corneal bandage group and 3.20 in the No CL group (p = 0.0304). Maximal pain level after one week was 3.88 in the fibrin CL group and 5.36 in the No CL group (p = 0.07). The mean minimal pain level after one week was 0.76 in the fibrin CL group and 0.80 in the No CL group (p = 0.362). Additionally, the mean duration of overall days of pain within one week was 3.04 in the fibrin CL group and 4.36 in the No CL group (p = 0.0287). Conclusion: The usage of bandaging corneal surgical wound with fibrin glue may lead to reduced pain levels and a shorter overall duration of pain compared to pterygium surgery without bandaging. Further studies with larger sample sizes and more often follow-up periods are necessary to confirm these findings and explore potential factors contributing to these observed differences. Keywords: Pterygium; Pterygium surgery; Fibrin glue; Postoperative pain, conjunctival autograft