Clinical Light Damage by Indirect Ophthalmoscopy

Abstract

To the Editor: Damage induced by light has been a topic of great concern among ophthalmologists and visual scientists1. It has been described clinically in conjunction with gazing directly into the sun2 and with exposure to ophthalmic instrumentation, such as operating microscopes and endoillumination probes3. We describe a patient who had light-induced damage after clinical ophthalmoscopic examination. The patient was a 55-year-old woman with a history of severe myopia (right eye, 15 diopters; left eye, 16 diopters), high intraocular pressure (right eye, 22 mm Hg; left eye, 25 mm Hg), glaucoma (treated with 5 percent timolol eye drops),… © 1993, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.