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Causes of postoperative ocular complaints

Causes of postoperative ocular complaints
  Associated factors
(not necessarily causal)
Clinical presentation Duration of POVL Workup Treatment
Visual loss with pain
Corneal abrasion[1-5]
  • Any type of surgery
  • Prolonged surgery
  • Exposure of cornea
  • Trauma
  • Surgery in non-supine position
  • Increased age
  • Onset immediate after emergence from anesthesia
  • Usually unilateral
  • Painful
  • Foreign body sensation
  • Conjunctival erythema, tearing, photophobia
  • Normal pupillary reflexes
  • Blurred vision to no visual deficit
  • 24 to 48 hours
  • History
  • Symptoms
  • External eye exam
  • Pupillary light reflexes
  • Fluorescein stain and slit lamp exam
  • Topical proparacaine*
  • Prophylactic antibiotic and lubricant eye drops
Acute angle closure glaucoma[6-9]
  • Any type of surgery
  • General anesthesia
  • Drugs: adrenergic, anticholinergic, antihistamines, antiparkinsonian, mydriatic, cholinergic, antidepressants
  • Genetic/anatomic predisposition
  • Female
  • Hypermetropia
  • Onset may be delayed >12 hours postop
  • Unilateral > bilateral
  • Pain: boring quality with ipsilateral headache
  • Intermittent blurring of vision with halos
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Mid-dilated nonreactive pupil
  • Conjunctival erythema
  • Corneal epithelial edema
  • IOP >21 mmHg
  • Until IOP controlled
  • Treatment required within a few hours of onset to prevent permanent vision loss
  • History
  • Symptoms
  • External eye exam
  • IOP >21 mmHg
  • Avoid dilated funduscopic exam as it may worsen symptoms
  • Topical and systemic medication to reduce IOP
  • Iridotomy for refractory IOP
  • Temporizing maneuvers (ie, anterior chamber paracentesis)
  • Avoid eye patch or other Rx that dilates pupils
Retrobulbar hematoma[10-14]
  • Orbital trauma
  • Head and neck procedures
  • May occur (rarely) with other surgical procedures when other associated risk factors are present: orbital floor fracture and s/p repair, anticoagulation, uncontrolled hypertension, straining or Valsalva, sneezing, vomiting
  • Most vision loss within 3 to 24 hours, but may be delayed up to seven to nine days
  • Unilateral
  • Severe, stabbing pain; pressure
  • Visual loss from hematoma causing optic nerve ischemia, direct compression, or central retinal artery occlusion
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Diplopia, ophthalmoplegia
  • Visual flashes
  • Relative afferent pupillary defect or absent pupillary reflex
  • Eyelid hematoma/ecchymosis
  • Subconjunctival hemorrhage
  • Proptosis
  • Depends on time to effective treatment
  • Treatment required within a few hours of onset to prevent permanent vision loss
  • History
  • External eye exam with pupillary light reflexes
  • Imaging if necessary, but may delay Rx
  • Surgical emergency if visual loss present
  • Lateral canthotomy or inferior cantholysis
  • May give topical medications to lower IOP if surgery delayed
Pituitary apoplexy[15-17]
  • Cardiac surgery; one case report after transurethral prostate surgery
  • Reduced blood flow to pituitary: severe hemorrhagic hypotension, head trauma, pituitary irradiation
  • Sudden increase in blood flow to the pituitary
  • Stimulation of the pituitary
  • Anticoagulation
  • Onset immediate to delayed by three months
  • Severe headache
  • Blurred vision to visual field defect to blindness
  • Cranial nerve III commonly involved with dilated, nonreactive pupil
  • Ophthalmoplegia
  • Altered mental status
  • Possible Addisonian crisis
  • Full recovery to permanent blindness (especially for chiasmal injuries)
  • CT/MRI imaging of head
  • Lab: electrolytes, glucose, pituitary hormones
  • Surgical decompression for visual changes or altered mental status
  • Endocrine replacement as necessary including high-dose corticosteroids
Posterior reversible encephalopathy[18-22]
  • Preeclampsia, eclampsia
  • Not commonly associated with surgery
  • Immunosuppressants
  • Chemotherapy
  • Infection
  • Vascular disease
  • Renal disease
  • Three postoperative cases: onset immediate after emergence from anesthesia
  • May have diffuse headache
  • Blurred vision, homonymous hemianopia, blindness
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Seizures
  • Brainstem symptoms
  • Hemiplegia
  • Altered mental status
  • Normal pupillary light reflexes
  • Normal funduscopic exam
  • Brisk DTRs
  • Positive Babinski
  • Average seven days; range from one day to permanent if progresses to infarction
  • DWI MRI brain showing vasogenic edema posterior circulation, especially subcortical white matter
  • Antihypertensives
  • Antiseizure medications for seizures
  • Mannitol for cerebral edema
  • Magnesium sulfate for preeclampsia/eclampsia
Visual loss without pain
Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy[23-28]
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Prone spine surgery
  • Head and neck surgery
  • Older age
  • Vascular risk factors
  • Anemia
  • Vasopressor use
  • Hypotension
  • Small optic nerve cup-to-disc ratio
  • Aberrant physiology or anatomy in the setting of reduced perfusion pressure
  • Onset immediate; may be delayed to POD one to three
  • Bilateral > unilateral
  • Progresses for a few days before stabilizing
  • Altitudinal field cuts, scotoma to complete loss of vision with no light perception
  • Relative afferent pupillary defect if asymmetric or amaurotic pupils
  • Funduscopic examination: optic disc swelling, attenuated vessels, splinter hemorrhages
  • Usually permanent; may have small degree of recovery
  • History
  • Symptoms
  • Pupillary light reflexes
  • External eye exam
  • Dilated funduscopic exam
  • None proven
  • Theoretical: optimized hemodynamics, glucocorticoids, mannitol, hyperbaric O2
Posterior ischemic optic neuropathy[23-29]
  • Prone spinal procedures
  • Bilateral head and neck procedures
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Prolonged duration in position with increased venous pressure in head: prone, Trendelenburg, Wilson frame
  • Large blood loss
  • Large fluid resuscitation, high crystalloid/colloid ratio
  • Wilson frame
  • Male sex
  • Obesity in prone position
  • Onset usually immediate after emergence from anesthesia, no progression
  • Bilateral >> unilateral
  • Altitudinal field cuts, scotoma to complete loss of vision with no light perception
  • Relative afferent pupillary defect if asymmetric or amaurotic pupils
  • Funduscopic exam normal
  • Usually permanent; may have small degree of recovery
  • History
  • Symptoms
  • Pupillary light reflexes
  • External eye exam
  • Dilated funduscopic exam
  • None proven
  • Theoretical: optimized hemodynamics, glucocorticoids, mannitol, hyperbaric O2
Cerebral or cortical visual loss[23,24,27,28]
  • Spine fusion
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Nonfusion orthopedic surgery
  • <18 years old
  • Charlson risk index >0
  • Infarction due to emboli or hypotension
  • Onset immediate after emergence from anesthesia
  • Bilateral: total blindness or small area preserved central vision
  • Unilateral: contralateral homonymous hemianopia
  • Pupillary light reflexes normal
  • Funduscopic exam normal
  • Some recovery possible; rarely complete
  • Treatment required within a few hours of onset to prevent permanent vision loss
  • CT or MRI
  • Acute stroke reperfusion therapy. Thrombolysis may be contraindicated in postoperative patients. Mechanical thrombectomy may be possible in some patients.
  • Normalization of blood pressure, cardiac output, oxygenation
Central retinal artery occlusion[23-25,27,30,31]
  • Prone procedures, especially spine
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Head and neck surgery
  • Emboli
  • Horseshoe headrest
  • Intraocular gas bubbles within two months of GA with nitrous oxide
  • Onset immediate after emergence from anesthesia
  • Unilateral
  • Complete or nearly complete loss of vision in the affected eye
  • Pupillary light reflex sluggish to absent; relative afferent pupillary if caused by globe compression; may have signs of periorbital trauma
  • Retinal whitening on funduscopic exam
  • Usually permanent, severe visual loss in affected eye
  • If treatment is attempted, it must be performed within a few hours of onset to prevent permanent vision loss
  • External eye exam
  • IOP measurement
  • Pupillary light reflexes
  • Funduscopic exam
  • None proven
  • Theoretical: inhaled O2 with 5% CO2, acetazolamide
  • Controversial, especially in postoperative setting: thrombolysis
Glycine-induced visual loss[32-37]
  • Transurethral prostate surgery
  • Hysteroscopy
  • Long operative time
  • Large irrigant absorption
  • Increased height of irrigation bag
  • High-pressure irrigation
  • Head-down position
  • Onset intraoperative if awake; up to several hours postoperatively
  • Blurred vision
  • Sluggish to fixed and dilated pupils
  • Funduscopic exam normal
  • <24 hours; may be longer if severe hyponatremia and other neurological/cardiac dysfunction
  • History
  • Lab: serum glycine and ammonia levels
  • Correct volume overload and electrolyte abnormalities
  • Supportive

IOP: intraocular pressure; Rx: treatment; CT: computerized tomography; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; DWI: diffused weighted imaging; GA: general anesthesia.

* For patients with suspected corneal abrasion and eye pain/discomfort, topical proparacaine may be used to make a presumptive diagnosis. After examining the eye to ensure the absence of a foreign body and confirming normal pupil reactivity, one drop of ophthalmic proparacaine 0.5% is instilled into the affected eye. Immediate relief of pain is consistent with the diagnosis of corneal abrasion, though relief will also occur if pain is caused by dry cornea or a small undetected foreign body. Ophthalmology should be consulted urgently for abnormal pupil reactivity, or if pain is not relieved within one minute after administration of proparacaine[5].
References:
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