02/03/2026
January 2026 Wills Eye Resident Case Series
A 54-year-old male line worker presented to a community hospital after an arc flash from a malfunctioning powerline transformer (estimated 7,200-volt flash). He was a few feet from the transformer and wore recommended personal protective equipment, including industrial UV-tinted protective eyewear.
At the outside hospital, he had burns to the face, neck and upper chest, with severe eye pain and mild blurry vision OU. He was mildly hypertensive (144/99) and tachycardic (100 bpm); other vitals, CBC, BMP and lactate were normal. He was transferred to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for burn and ophthalmologic evaluation.
Assessment by the trauma team on arrival showed singed facial hair and second-degree burns of the face, neck and upper chest. There was no airway involvement, and the patient was hemodynamically stable. EKG showed normal sinus rhythm.
On ophthalmic consultation, he reported several minutes of severe blurring immediately after the flash, followed by persistent mild blurriness and burning eye pain OU. He reported a sandpaper sensation with eyelid closure that improved with proparacaine. He also had mild photophobia but no flashes, floaters or other vision symptoms.
Keep reading: https://www.reviewofophthalmology.com/article/january-2026-wills-eye-resident-case-series
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