Corneal Laceration

James (not his real name) is a 22 yrs old martial arts sub-elite athlete who sustained a kick to his right eye 6 months ago. He sustained injury to his right cornea laceration due to the contact lens. Although he was seen by an Ophthalmologist and treated for several weeks, he still has blurred vision in his right eye. The corneal injury is visualised as a white patch on the cornea (corneal opacification). It is best seen under slit lamp after fluorescein eye stain. In full thickness corneal laceration, aqueous humour may leak out or there may be bleeding (hyphema) there may be distortion of the shape of the eyeball.


Since he wanted to continue to fight, he has been asked to obtain further treatment with Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) or Corneal Transplant. Failure to do so, he may not be able to clear his Preparticipation examination with 'one good eye'.

Interesting links:
Corneal Laceration
Corneal Abrasion
Corneoscleral Laceration
Sports Pre-participation Examination