A Case of Photic Retinal Injury Associated with Exposure to Plasma Arc Welding

Purpose: To report of photic retinopathy induced by plasma arc welding, and the OCT (optical coherence tomography) results of damaged retinal lesions. Methods: We describe a case report of a 37-year-old male, working in the steel industry, who presented with central scotoma in both eyes. Results: On his first visit, one day after performing plasma arc welding with protective gear at work, his best corrected vision was 0.7 for both eyes. Ophthalmic examination of the fundus showed a round yellow lesion with an approximate size of 300 micrometers superonasal to the fovea of both eyes. On his next visit, one month later, his vision had recovered to 1.0, his symptoms had improved, and the ophthalmoscopic examination of the fundus revealed that the round yellow spots had disappeared from both eyes. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report of photic retinopathy induced by plasma arc welding, and the OCT (optical coherence tomography) results of damaged retinal lesions have not previously been reported. For these reasons, we report this case. Korean Journal of Ophthalmology 20(4):250-253, 2006