Argon laser-induced cataract. A clinicopathologic study.

A patient with diabetic retinopathy and senile anterior cortical and nuclear cataract was treated with argon laser photocoagulation of the fundus. During the treatment, white ovoid opacities appeared in the lens cortex, extending into the nucleus. They remained nonprogressive for five weeks, when cataract extraction was performed. The lens was studied by light and electron microscopy. The lenticular opacities contained rows of damaged, spindle-shaped lens fibers, with laminated cellular debris and clear spaces. We compared the unique features of the laser-induced lenticular lesions with the senile cataractous changes in the same crystalline lens.