Winglets of the eye: dominant transmission of early adult pterygium of the conjunctiva.

A pterygium, a wing-like thickening, of the bulbar conjunctiva is of environmental interest because it can occur on prolonged exposure to wind and weather. We describe a family with pterygium in two generations without a history of unusual exposure to the elements. There were six females and five males (including a set of male twins) with seven bilateral and four unilateral pterygia. The onset was unique in being in early adulthood, from the late teens through the twenties. This new genetic form can be distinguished by the age of onset from congenital and mid-adult pterygia, which are inherited as autosomal dominant traits. Irrespective of age, the treatment of conjunctival pterygium is surgical excision.