A radical treatment for surfer's eye.

To cite: Campbell TG. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2014203896 DESCRIPTION In the world of surfing, a pterygium—a band of fibrous tissue that extends from the conjunctival surface on to the cornea—is common enough have acquired the moniker ‘surfer’s eye’. Pterygia can encroach on the visual axis or cause a foreign body sensation in the eye, at which stage surgical removal of the pterygium and coverage of the area with a conjunctival auto-graft is recommended. Waimea Bay in Hawai’i is the undisputed epicentre of big wave surfing. Waves at ‘The Bay’ can exceed 15 m in height and surfers can reach speeds of 70 kph. Early in 2013, a 61-year-old extremely experienced surfer, with a long history of a pterygium extending onto his corneal surface, overbalanced while surfing a ∼10 m wave at Waimea Bay. He momentarily dipped his face into the water while travelling at top speed (figure 1), but was able to recover his balance and continue surfing the wave. This impressive manoeuvre resulted in the pterygium being ripped off his eye surface (figure 2). The corneal component was cleared and his visual and foreign body sensation symptoms improved. Although the wound site was inflamed for several days, it ultimately recovered without medical intervention. To my knowledge, this is the first recorded instance of such an unconventional approach to dealing with ‘surfer’s eye’. As of June 2013, the pterygium had not returned. The author has recommended that if it does return, the surfer should seek a more traditional method of pterygium removal through his nearest ophthalmologist.