An Experimental Study of Induced Maculopathy in Ex-Vivo Tissue by Laser Pointers

In recent years, the sales of laser pointers have not been regulated, which represents a public health hazard due to their close relationship with induced maculopathy cases. The lack of knowledge about the damage caused by the direct exposure of the eye to laser pointers is a common practice among children and teenagers. Attractive factors include the intensity and bright color of the light, so they forget about the exposure risk. The light emitted by a laser pointer can cause everything from mild retinopathy or maculopathy to total vision loss. The present work shows an experimental study with pig eyes to compare the healthy macula, cornea, and retina with exposure to laser pointers. The length of exposure was 15 cm for all samples, varying the time between 15 and 60 s. For 15 and 60 s, the cornea showed slight injury from the three laser pointers; however, the macula and retina presented damage. At 60 s, the macula and retina showed severe lesions, including burns.