Early Effects of Photocoagulation on the Nerve Fiber Layer of the Human Retina

Abstract

Photocoagulation in a dosage as used to treat retinal holes, for example, is known to cause complete or incomplete necrosis of the retina within the area of the burn.¹ In dogs, Okun and Collins² have demonstrated necrosis of the nerve fiber layer with formation of cytoid bodies on both sides of the lesion and subsequent peripheral and central degeneration of the ganglion cell axons secondary to photocoagulation. The early reactions of the human nerve fiber layer after photocoagulation are studied in the present paper. Report of a Case A 52-year-old white woman was first seen on Sept 14, 1962, with a small, pigmented, and slightly elevated choroidal tumor temporal to the macula of her left eye. The lesion was observed for three years. It enlarged and caused a progressive visual