The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries

Six male patients, aged 18–34 years, presented with acute vision loss following accidental exposure to laser light during a religious gathering. Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated fundus examination, fundus photograp...

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Main Authors: Gaurav Patil, Surendra Wadgaonkar, Ketaki Bhat, Suhas J. Sonawane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology and Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jcor.jcor_143_24
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author Gaurav Patil
Surendra Wadgaonkar
Ketaki Bhat
Suhas J. Sonawane
author_facet Gaurav Patil
Surendra Wadgaonkar
Ketaki Bhat
Suhas J. Sonawane
author_sort Gaurav Patil
collection DOAJ
description Six male patients, aged 18–34 years, presented with acute vision loss following accidental exposure to laser light during a religious gathering. Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated fundus examination, fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography, were conducted. Two patients had preretinal hemorrhage, and four exhibited macular-involving subhyaloid hemorrhage, with a median size of two-disc diameters or larger. One patient developed a full-thickness macular hole, requiring surgical intervention. Visual acuity improved from 20/200 to 20/60 after 1 month. This study underscores the significant public health risks associated with recreational laser use and emphasizes the urgent need for stricter safety regulations and public awareness to prevent such potentially sight-threatening ocular injuries.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2320-3897
2320-3900
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
record_format Article
series Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology and Research
spelling doaj-art-b7b693bef7c64527959ecd3dab3c58812025-02-06T06:38:52ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Clinical Ophthalmology and Research2320-38972320-39002025-01-0113111411810.4103/jcor.jcor_143_24The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuriesGaurav PatilSurendra WadgaonkarKetaki BhatSuhas J. SonawaneSix male patients, aged 18–34 years, presented with acute vision loss following accidental exposure to laser light during a religious gathering. Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations, including visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, dilated fundus examination, fundus photography, and optical coherence tomography, were conducted. Two patients had preretinal hemorrhage, and four exhibited macular-involving subhyaloid hemorrhage, with a median size of two-disc diameters or larger. One patient developed a full-thickness macular hole, requiring surgical intervention. Visual acuity improved from 20/200 to 20/60 after 1 month. This study underscores the significant public health risks associated with recreational laser use and emphasizes the urgent need for stricter safety regulations and public awareness to prevent such potentially sight-threatening ocular injuries.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jcor.jcor_143_24lasersmaculopathyoptical coherence tomographypublic health awarenesssubhyaloid hemorrhage
spellingShingle Gaurav Patil
Surendra Wadgaonkar
Ketaki Bhat
Suhas J. Sonawane
The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology and Research
lasers
maculopathy
optical coherence tomography
public health awareness
subhyaloid hemorrhage
title The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
title_full The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
title_fullStr The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
title_full_unstemmed The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
title_short The dangers of recreational lasers: A case series of retinal injuries
title_sort dangers of recreational lasers a case series of retinal injuries
topic lasers
maculopathy
optical coherence tomography
public health awareness
subhyaloid hemorrhage
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jcor.jcor_143_24
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