Chronic Percussion Massage Gun Use for a Dermatologic Indication Presenting as Unilateral Angle Closure in an Emmetropic Eye: A Case Report

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Introduction: Percussion massage guns are increasingly used for home wellness purposes, and a small but growing number of reports describe serious ocular complications from their misuse. Prior reports have generally involved device use for a complaint conceptually linked to the head or eyes, with the causative history readily volunteered once ocular pathology was identified. We report a case that differs on both counts. Case Presentation: A 55-year-old man presented with a one-week history of right eye pain and redness. He was found to have markedly elevated intraocular pressure and asymmetric anterior chamber depth, and anterior lens subluxation was suspected. Only at a second visit, prompted by an incidental finding of chronic facial skin changes, did the patient disclose that he had been using two percussion massage guns interchangeably on his face for a year or more to relieve facial itching from a longstanding, treatment-refractory dermatitis, applying a firm deep-tissue attachment at maximum speed near his eyes; his wife corroborated and added detail he had not volunteered himself. He underwent pars plana vitrectomy and lensectomy, with resolution of the angle closure and normalization of intraocular pressure, and elected to manage his resulting aphakia with a contact lens. His fellow eye remained unaffected. Conclusion: This case is distinguished by use of the device for an unrelated dermatologic indication, interchangeable use of two high-output devices with a firm attachment applied at maximum speed to the eyes, and one of the longest exposures reported. The causative history was not identified until after diagnosis had already been reached by other means, emerging only through questioning prompted by an incidental finding rather than direct trauma inquiry. Clinicians should not assume a negative initial history excludes this etiology, and should pursue history-taking prompted by incidental findings and routinely seek collateral history from family members.