High-powered laser pointers can be easily purchased online, but they become extremely dangerous when they end up in the hands of children!

What happens when a laser pointer is shone into the eyes? The surface of the eye may appear unaffected. But does that mean it's harmless?

No, the laser directly reaches the retina, often targeting the most critical area—the macula—creating a lesion or "pit" in the retina.

Can vision recover? How long does it take? Are there any long-term effects?

These are the questions parents are most concerned about.

Let’s examine some cases to find the answers.

CASE 1

A 9-year-old boy suffered a laser-induced burn to the macula of his left eye, reducing his best-corrected visual acuity to 0.4.

The macula showed a small, yolk-like lesion, and OCT imaging revealed a pit as shown below:

Two months later, his vision improved to 0.67. After 19 months, it finally recovered to 1.0, though macular sensitivity in the left eye remained reduced, and the pit persisted.

CASE 2

An 11-year-old boy sustained laser injuries to both eyes, with visual acuity dropping to 0.8.

Eight weeks later, visual acuity further declined to 0.5 in the right eye and 0.4 in the left eye. Fundus examination revealed discontinuities in the ellipsoid zone and external limiting membrane, as shown below:

After 12 months, visual acuity in both eyes recovered to 0.67. However, macular sensitivity remained reduced, and traces of the retinal pits were still visible.

From these cases, we can draw some insights to answer parents' questions.

Can vision recover? How long does it take?

Partial recovery is possible. In the worst-case example above, vision improved to 0.67 after one year.

Additionally, macular sensitivity tends to remain reduced.

Are there any long-term effects?

Yes! Retinal pits in the macula may persist, and regular follow-up examinations are necessary...