Branch retinal artery occlusion after septoplasty.
Loss of vision after uncomplicated rhinosurgery is a rare and uncommon complication. The authors describe a case of branch retinal artery occlusion after septoplasty in a 40-year-old otherwise healthy man. The likely etiology was injection of local anesthetics into the nasal mucosa during surgery. Vision loss could potentially have been prevented through the application of topical vasoconstrictive agents prior to anesthetic injection. Furthermore, slow injection and aspiration prior to injection could also help prevent inadvertent intraarterial injection.
Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Theodore
T
Leng
Darius M
DM
Moshfeghi
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D015356:Retinal Artery Occlusion / Q000209:etiology*; D012225:Rhinoplasty / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology*