A retired teacher from London experienced a highly unusual medical complication after routine eye surgery, leaving him haunted by persistent hallucinations of large breasts for ten consecutive days.
The Unforgettable Surgical Aftermath
In August, Mark Bryan, a 45-year-old from Redbridge, London, underwent laser surgery on his right retina to treat scar tissue caused by diabetic retinopathy. This sight-threatening condition is linked to the type 1 diabetes he was diagnosed with over two decades ago.
Just six days post-surgery, while cooking sausages, Mark was startled by the sudden appearance of a vision he would later nickname 'Taloula'. He described the hallucination as featuring 'Baywatch-style boobs' that would materialise without warning, similar to a horror film jumpscare.
Ten Days of Unwanted Company
For the following ten days, Mark found himself constantly accompanied by this unexpected vision. 'It was like having Pamela Anderson pinned to my face', he recalled, referencing the poster from his youth. The hallucination appeared during mundane activities like brushing his teeth or watching television, and even persisted when he closed his eyes.
The situation quickly became overwhelming. Mark became too anxious to leave his house, as the breasts would superimpose themselves on people he encountered at local shops or fast-food restaurants. The startling nature of these appearances made him jump up to twenty times daily.
A Medical Explanation Emerges
On October 8, an optician provided the explanation Mark desperately needed. He was diagnosed with Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS), a rare condition that causes visual hallucinations, often following vision loss or surgery, and is unrelated to mental health.
The syndrome occurs when the brain compensates for a lack of visual information. In Mark's case, a bubble of air inserted during surgery to heal his macula was wobbling, giving the hallucination a 'very animated' quality. As this bubble gradually reduced over three weeks, the vision diminished until 'poor Taloula looked more like a topless man'.
Mark underwent a repeat procedure on September 10, but this time was not troubled by the unusual visions. He reflected that since CBS hallucinations are often personal to the sufferer, the experience made him feel 'like a bit of a perv', though he maintained it was important to find humour in the bizarre situation.
