Central Retinal Artery Occlusion after Cervical Spine Surgery in Prone Position under General Anesthesia: A case report / 대한마취과학회지

ABSTRACT

Central retinal artery occlusion occurs rarely as a complication of spine surgery under general anesthesia in prone position, but is quite tragic. The suggested causes are hypotension during anesthesia and increased external ocular pressure by headrest, sand bag or others. We experienced a case of left central retinal artery occlusion following cervical spine surgery under general anesthesia using a horseshoe headrest. The patient was 53 years old male whose medical history was non remarkable except dislocation of cervical spine. He was positioned prone after induction. The vital signs were stable during opreration. At the recovery room, he presented left visual field disturbance and investigations revealed that left central retinal artery occlusion occured. This case demonstrates that proper positioning of the head on an adequate head rest and contineous cautious inspection during surgical procedure are important to prevent retinal damage.