title: Monocular blindness: a complication of intraoperative positioning in posterior cervical spine surgery.
abstract: Postoperative visual loss after spine surgery is a rare but devastating complication. Although uncommon, reports of postoperative blindness are documented in spine and cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries with an incidence varying between 0.05 percent and one percent. A 62-year-old man presenting with cervical myelopathy underwent C3-C6 posterior laminectomy, decompression and lateral mass plating. Unfortunately, he developed unilateral blindness in his right eye. The potential aetiological factors and ways to prevent this disastrous complication are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore. kasodekarvaibhav@hotmail.com
authors.forename: V B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Kasodekar
authors.forename: J L T
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016684:Prone Position; D015356:Retinal Artery Occlusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D013128:Spinal Osteophytosis / Q000601:surgery; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000601:surgery