Pathologic findings of photic retinopathy in the human eye

The macular retina of a patient whose eye was scheduled for enucleation because of progressive growth of a malignant melanoma that had invaded the iris and filtration angle was exposed to unfiltered light from the operating-room microscope for 60 minutes. Photic maculopathy was documented with fundus photography and fluorescein angiography 67 hours after light exposure. Seventy-two hours after light exposure, the eye was enucleated, fixed in Trumpe's solution, and studied with light microscopy and electron microscopy. Findings included localized necrosis of the retinal pigment epithelium; loss of the apical villi, plasma membranes, and cytoplasmic organelles; extrusion of pigment granules; and extensive disruption of the outer lamellae of the photoreceptors. The inner segments of the photoreceptors were edematous and contained swollen mitochondria. Near the margins of the photic retinopathy, thinned retinal pigment epithelial cells appeared to have migrated under injured retinal pigment epithelial cells, suggesting early attempts at repair. Additional findings included Müller-cell swelling.