A Laser Pointer Burned a Hole in a 9-Year-Old Boy ’s Eye, Doctors Say

Playing with a laser pointer may have left a young boy with permanent eye damage, according to a case study. A 9-year-old boy visited an ophthalmology clinic in Larissa, Greece, complaining of vision problems in his left eye, the case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says. Despite having 20/20 vision in his right eye, doctors found that his left eyesight was around 20/100 — a discrepancy explained by a hole on his left macula, a part of the retina that “provides sharp, central vision,” according to the National Eye Institute. Macular holes can cause blurry and distorted vision, and typically happen through eye trauma or as part of the natural aging process. After interviewing the patient, doctors determined that his eye damage was likely caused by playing with and staring at the light of a green laser pointer. Given the extent of the damage, the boy’s doctors opted not to operate, and said his vision has not improved during 18 months of follow-up. “Macular hole, in general, is usually repairable, but it doesn’t usually happen from laser pointers,” explains Dr. John Miller, director of retinal imaging at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. (Miller was not involved in the case.) “The laser actually heats up the tissue…and almost burns or vaporizes the retinal tissue, so it’s lost, as opposed to in the more typical traumatic injury or in the older patient population.” Miller says most patients who ex...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime medicine onetime Source Type: news