Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of continuous suture and interrupted suture on corneal healing, pain degree, and tear film stability after autologous conjunctival transplantation for pterygium. Methods A total of 86 patients who underwent resection of pterygium and autologous conjunctival transplantation of corneal limbal stem cells from January 2017 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to suture methods, the patients were assigned to continuous suture group (n=43) and interrupted suture group (n=43). The corneal healing degree, visual analogue scale score, and tear film stability were compared between the two groups. Results The visual analogue scale score, corneal healing degree, and tear film stability in the continuous suture group were better than those in the interrupted suture group (P<0.05). Conclusion After resection of pterygium and autologous conjunctival transplantation, continuous suture can improve corneal healing degree, relieve pain, and produce less impact on tear film stability.

Key words: Pterygium, Autologous conjunctival transplantation, Continuous suture, Interrupted suture