Publication: Postoperative Visual Loss Following Spine Surgery: A Case Report
Date
2019
Article Type
Case Report
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
JNMA Print ISSN: 0028-2715; Online ISSN: 1815-672X
Volume Title
Pages
Pages: 269 - 271
Publisher
Nepal Medical Association
Abstract
Abstract
Postoperative visual loss is a rare but devastating complication of non-ophthalmic surgery. Its aetiology is poorly understood and multiple associated factors have been proposed. We present a report of a 33-year-old female who developed irreversible diminution of vision on the right eye (non-arteritic-posterior-ischemic-optic-neuropathy) following general anaesthesia for pedicle screw fixation and plating for fracture vertebrae and hip in prone position and then screw placement for fracture calcaneum in supine position. The vision loss, limited to finger count close to face on the right eye, did not improve till follow-up at one-year. The combination of mild intraoperative hypotension, anaemia, prone positioning, prolonged surgery and anaesthesia may have contributed to postoperative visual loss in our patient.
Keywords: ischaemic optic neuropathy; postoperative visual loss; spine surgery.
Description
Sabin Bhandari
Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical care, B.P. Koirala Insitute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4890-2228
Krishna Pokharel
Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical care, B.P. Koirala Insitute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal
Birendra Prasad Sah
Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical care, B.P. Koirala Insitute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal
Keywords
ischaemic optic neuropathy, postoperative visual loss, spine surgery
Identifier
https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.4539