Contralateral amaurosis and extraocular muscle palsies after retrobulbar injection

We report a rare complication of retrobulbar anesthesia in ophthalmic surgery-amarurosis and extraocular muscle palsies in the contralateral eye. Our patient did not suffer permanent sequelae from the injection. Numerous complications resulting from retrobulbar injections in the eye and orbit have b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArchivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología Vol. 81; no. 1; p. 45
Main Authors Chinchurreta-Capote, A, Beltrán-Ureña, F J, Fernández-Ramos, M A, Martínez-de-Velasco-Santos, C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Spanish
Published Spain 01.01.2006
Subjects
Aged
Anesthesia, Local - adverse effects
Anesthetics, Local - adverse effects
Blindness - chemically induced
Humans
Injections - adverse effects
Male
Oculomotor Muscles - drug effects
Ophthalmoplegia - chemically induced
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Summary:We report a rare complication of retrobulbar anesthesia in ophthalmic surgery-amarurosis and extraocular muscle palsies in the contralateral eye. Our patient did not suffer permanent sequelae from the injection. Numerous complications resulting from retrobulbar injections in the eye and orbit have been reported. One possible explanation of this case is the inadvertent penetration of the subdural or subarachnoid space surrounding the optic nerve and the injection of anesthetic into that space. The drug then tracks along the ipsilateral optic nerve to the chiasm and then to the contralateral optic nerve. Several methods of decreasing the probability of such a complication are discussed.
ISSN:0365-6691