Histopathology of krypton red laser panretinal photocoagulation. A clinicopathologic correlation
R. N. Johnson, A. R. Irvine and I. S. Wood
The histopathologic appearance of five-day-old and 14-day-old krypton red
laser-created panretinal photocoagulation lesions in the diabetic human eye
is described. The five-day-old lesions were examined near the equator. The
14-day-old lesions were near the temporal arcades and optic disc. Both
groups of laser lesions showed a similar degree of damage and occlusion in
the lamina choriocapillaris and deeper choroidal vessels. The 14-day-old
posterior laser lesions showed outer retinal damage, whereas the
five-day-old peripheral lesions showed full-thickness retinal involvement,
probably because the peripheral retina is approximately half the thickness
of the posterior retina. The five-day-old lesions showed no evidence of
repair, whereas the 14-day-old lesions showed an adhesion formed with tight
junctions binding Muller's fibers to retinal pigment epithelium.
