Bilateral Blindness due to Ischemic Optic Nerve Neuropathy After Abdominal Surgery.
Postoperative blindness is an unpredictable, devastating, and yet not-uncommon complication of anesthesia. We present the case of a patient who suffered bilateral loss of eyesight after surgery. The diagnostic evidence led us to believe that it was bilateral posterior ischemic optic neuropathy; however, the true mechanisms of damage remain a matter of speculation.
From the *Klinik für Anästhesiologie & Intensivmedizin, Universität Duisburg-Essen and Universitätsklinikum Essen, Essen, Germany; and †Section of Retinology, Department of Ophthalmology, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Essen, Germany.
Alexander B U
AB
Geis
Anke
A
Höfert
Marie-Therese
MT
Silvanus
Norbert
N
Bornfeld
Jürgen
J
Peters
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018917:Optic Neuropathy, Ischemic / Q000209:etiology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000473:pathology*