Electric Shock Leaves Star Patterns Inside the Eyes

Lightning in the Eyes: The Rare Star-Shaped Cataract After Electric Shock

It sounds like science fiction — a man struck by high voltage develops tiny stars inside his eyes. But for ophthalmologists, this bizarre phenomenon has a name: star-shaped (rosette) cataract, a rare lens opacity caused by electricity passing through the body.

A Shock That Changed His Vision
A 42-year-old electrician working on a high-voltage line felt a sudden jolt race through his arm and shoulder. He survived — but weeks later, he began to see halos and blurred outlines. When doctors examined him, they were stunned: the lens of each eye had turned cloudy in the shape of a glowing star.

The shock had literally etched a pattern of damage into the transparent lens, creating what ophthalmologists call a stellate cataract.

Surgeons eventually replaced both lenses, partially restoring his vision. But the unusual star-pattern remained one of the most dramatic visual consequences ever documented after an electric injury.

How Electricity Scars the Eye
The human eye is a delicate conductor. When high-voltage electricity passes through the head or neck, it can travel along nerves — including the optic pathways — and disrupt the proteins that keep the lens clear.

The result isn’t the cloudy haze seen in age-related cataracts, but rather a radiating burst of opacity resembling a star or flower. This is why they’re often called rosette cataracts.

The damage happens deep within the lens fibers. Electric current can:

• Generate intense heat, “cooking” lens proteins in microseconds
  
  
• Create shockwaves that rupture lens cells
  
  
• Trigger free radical damage that continues for weeks afterward
  

That’s why vision changes sometimes appear days or even months after the initial injury.

The Delayed Danger
Doctors say star-shaped cataracts are among the few injuries that can hide in plain sight after an electrical accident. The eyes may look normal at first, but opacities develop quietly over time.

Patients often describe symptoms such as:

• Gradual blurring of vision
  
  
• Glare around lights at night
  
  
• Reduced color and contrast perception
  

By the time they notice the problem, the pattern is fully developed — a tiny constellation burned into the lens.

Surgery and Recovery
Cataract surgery can usually restore clear vision, but these cases are not routine.
The lens capsule may be fragile, and the suspensory fibers weakened, requiring the surgeon to use special stabilizing rings or alternative implants.

Even when surgery succeeds, recovery depends on how much deeper damage occurred. If the retina or optic nerve was also affected by the electric current, vision may never fully return.

In one documented case, one eye recovered well, while the other later developed retinal detachment — a reminder that the damage from electricity can keep evolving long after the initial trauma.

Why Doctors Should Pay Attention
For physicians and emergency clinicians, this case carries an important lesson:
anyone who sustains a high-voltage shock should have their eyes examined, even if vision seems fine. Cataracts can form weeks later — and early detection allows for better planning and patient counseling.

Star-shaped cataracts also serve as a visual fingerprint of what electricity can do to human tissue — a reminder of how easily invisible forces can leave permanent marks.

A Star No One Wishes For
The poetic image of “stars in the eyes” takes on a tragic meaning here. The beauty of the pattern masks the violence that caused it. For the man who experienced it, each star was not a symbol of wonder, but of survival — a permanent reminder that lightning doesn’t always strike from the sky. Sometimes, it strikes within.