Pet mynah bird injury results in loss of LASIK flap

A fourth-year resident at Sheba Medical Center in Israel described his treatment of a woman who sustained a bird-related corneal injury at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Congress (ESCRS) (11-15 September, Excel London).

Speaking with OT at ESCRS, Dr Daniel David outlined how a 34-year-old patient presented at the Sheba Medical Center ophthalmology emergency room in December 2025 around an hour after an accident involving her pet mynah bird. David was involved in managing the case under the leadership of corneal specialist, Professor Irit Barequet.

David said that the bird, which the woman had adopted a few years previously, was sitting on the woman’s shoulder when she turned her head.

“The bird pecked her right in the cornea,” he said.

Upon examination, David found that the globe was still intact.

The patient told him that she had received femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) surgery 10 months before the accident.

“When I examined her, I noticed that her LASIK flap was completely gone. I wanted to make sure that was not dislocated because then we could lift it, irrigate it, and put it back in place. But it was completely lost,” David shared.

In the place of the flap, there was a sharply demarcated circular epithelial defect corresponding to the flap borders, he added.

She told me that she doesn’t blame her and that the bird was just being playful

The woman was treated with a bandage contact lens and intensive fortified topical antibiotics. She later received topical corticosteroids and topical losartan.

At a follow-up appointment 10 weeks after the injury, the woman’s visual acuity was 6/6.

David reflected that the positive outcome may be linked to the type of LASIK surgery that the patient received.

“The femtosecond laser creates the flap in a way that heals much better. Even though she had the flap completely removed, the epithelium grew back,” he said.

David told OT that, at a follow-up appointment a week before ESCRS, the woman was pleased with her vision. She confirmed she still had the pet mynah bird.

“She told me that she doesn’t blame her and that the bird was just being playful,” he said.

“She still feeds her and loves her, but the bird doesn’t sit on her shoulder anymore,” David said.

David shared that the experience of treating the injury had changed the way he looks at mynah birds – which are a common bird where he lives in Ramat Gan, Israel.

“I never really noticed them before. Now whenever I see those little orange beaks I spot them straight away,” he said.