Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 31, 2025
Rat Model of Photochemically-Induced Posterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
Published on: November 29, 2015
Solar retinal phototoxicity masquerading as self-inflicted handheld laser-induced lesions
Sylvia Nghiem-Buffet1,2, Alain Gaudric1,3, Salomon Y Cohen1,4
1Ophthalmology Center for Imaging and Laser, 11 Rue Antoine Bourdelle, 75015, Paris, France.
Purpose:
To report multimodal imaging of lesions due to the unprotected observation of the sun with an astronomical telescope, mimicking self-inflicted handheld laser-induced macular lesions.
Observation:
A 44-year old man was diagnosed with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy leaving a relative scotoma in his left eye, with visual acuity limited to 20/40. He complained of a sudden visual loss to 20/400. Fundus examination showed a yellowish discoloration of the fovea. Fundus autofluorescence pictures showed hyper-autofluorescent spots that were hyperfluorescent both on fluorescein and indocyanine-green angiography. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) showed hyper-reflective foveal outer layers, and OCT-angiography showed dark areas at the choriocapillaris. Multimodal imaging was highly suggestive of self-inflicted handheld laser-induced lesions that were ruled out by the patient. He remembered having observed the sun during an astronomical session, looking for solar winds. The main astronomical telescope was protected by a specific filter, but the aiming side-telescope was incidentally not protected by any filter.
Conclusion And Importance:
The unprotected observation of the sun with an astronomical telescope may result in visual loss due to macular burns that may mimic self-inflicted handheld laser-induced lesions. This hypothesis should be searched before concluding denied self-injuries.
