The fleshy growth creeping across the white of the eye

What it is

A wedge of thickened tissue that grows from the white of the eye onto the cornea, usually from the side nearest the nose. Ultraviolet light is the main driver, which is why it is often called surfer’s eye, and dry dusty air makes it worse. It starts as a yellowish patch called a pinguecula and only some go on to become a true pterygium.

When it needs treating

Most pterygia never need surgery. The decision rests on what it is doing rather than on how it looks in a photograph.

The surgery

The abnormal tissue is removed and the bare area is covered. Simply cutting it out has a high recurrence rate, so a graft is used. In a conjunctival autograft, a small piece of your own healthy conjunctiva is taken from under the upper lid and laid over the gap, which is the approach with the best long term record. Where the pterygium is large or has already recurred, an amniotic membrane graft is used instead. It is done under local anaesthesia as a day case.

Recovery

Expect a red, gritty, watery eye for one to two weeks. That is the graft settling and it looks worse than it is. Drops are used for several weeks. Most people are back to desk work within a few days, and the eye looks normal by about a month. Swimming, dust and rubbing are out for the period you are told.

Stopping it coming back

A graft reduces recurrence but nothing removes the cause. Sunglasses that block ultraviolet light, a hat with a brim, and lubricants in dry dusty conditions are what keeps it away, and they matter more after surgery than before.

Questions people ask about this