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Case Reports
. 2021 Jul 1;15(4):468-472.
doi: 10.1097/ICB.0000000000000823.

MULTIMODAL IMAGING OF PHOTIC MACULOPATHY FROM ARC WELDING

Dong-Wouk Park  1 , Brock Alonzo  2 , Ambar Faridi  2   3 , Kavita V Bhavsar  2   3
Affiliations
Case Reports

MULTIMODAL IMAGING OF PHOTIC MACULOPATHY FROM ARC WELDING

Dong-Wouk Park et al. Retin Cases Brief Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose: Photic retinal toxicity induced by exposure to arc welding can lead to irreversible vision loss. Serial multimodal imaging is characterized in a patient with outer retinal damage secondary to welder's maculopathy.

Methods: A single case was retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography acutely revealed disruption of the ellipsoid zone, hyperreflective bands through the outer nuclear layer, and outer retinal cavitation consistent with phototoxicity. Subsequently, disruption and hypertrophy of the subfoveal retinal pigment epithelium developed. Autofluorescence depicted central hypoautofluorescence.

Conclusion: We report serial multimodal imaging in welder's maculopathy to better characterize the evolution of lesions. Multimodal imaging including spectral domain optical coherence tomography in arc welding phototoxicity may share features with other forms of phototoxicity such as hand-held laser maculopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors do not have any conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Serial spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) of the left eye photic exposure at presentation (A-D), 9 days (E-F), and 1 month (G, H, I). Image D demonstrates outer retinal cavitation. Images A, B, and H show hyper-reflective bands emanating from the ellipsoid zone that pass through the outer nuclear layer along Henle’s layer. Image E and F demonstrate retinal pigment epithelium irregularity and hypertrophy. Image I shows partial reformation of the subfoveal ellipsoid zone.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Serial fundus photos of the left eye demonstrating lesion evolution: focal RPE changes are noted at 9 days (A, B), progression to outer retinal streaks develops at 17 days (C, D), resolution of outer retinal streaks and RPE hypertrophy occurs at 30 days (E, F).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Fluorescein angiography 9 days following initial presentation demonstrates vascular changes including microaneurysms consistent with background non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (A, B). Autofluorescence at 17 days reveals focal central hypoautofluorescence (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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