Laser-induced retinal injury following a recreational laser show: two case reports and a clinicopathological study.

Background: Two patients who attended a dance festival with an audience-scanning laser show presented in our department with a decrease in visual acuity from a direct laser hit in one eye. Ophthalmoscopy showed a similarly sized retinochoroidal coagulation spot, which had led to a retinal hemorrhage in both patients. Because the organizers of the show concluded that the retinal injury was caused by powerful, handheld laser pointers in the crowd, we were interested in determining if these laser pointers could cause this kind of acute retinopathy.