Background: The aim of a study was to assess the efficacy of a new surgical technique that uses conjunctival tissuefrom the pterygium itself as a graft with a 180-degree rotation and fibrin glue in the primary pterygium surgery.

Material and methods: For this non-comparative, interventional study, 36 eyes from 36 patients with primary pterygium were operated on between January 2019 and December 2019. Pterygium was used to create a thin conjunctival graft (CAG) layer in this technique. This pterygium layer was entirely separated from the underlying fibrovascular tissue and retained on the corneal surface. A thin conjunctival graft was transferred to the bare sclera bed with the epithelial side up and rotated 180° before adhering to the bare sclera bed with fibrin glue. The primary outcome was the recurrence of pterygium. Other secondary variables included graft edema and graft retraction.

Results: The primary outcome was the recurrence of pterygium. Graft edema and graft retraction were considered as other complications. The average age was 47.5 years, with an 8-month follow-up. According to the study, the patients had an 8.3% recurrence rate (3 eyes out of 36). Graft edema was the only significant complication (52.77%, 19 eyes out of 36), which resolved without intervention. Graft retraction was the second most common complication, accounting for 27.7% of all cases (10 eyes out of 36).

Conclusion: In this technique, there is no tissue wastage (as in excision), no trauma to the normal area (as in conjunctival autograft), no suture-related complications, and shorter operating time. This technique can be used as a safe and alternative to CAG for patients in whom CAG cannot be performed with very low recurrence rates and complications.