Sudden vision loss following retinal detachment surgery

A 22-year-old man with Eales' disease with secondary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with a break five disc diameters from the disc underwent radial scleral buckling using a silicone sponge episcleral explant with local cryopexy. Five hours after surgery the patient had no light perception. There was no intraoperative or postoperative rise of intraocular pressure or central retinal artery ischemia. Immediate removal of the explant brought a return of light perception and postoperative visual acuity improvement. The episcleral explant may have caused the direct optic nerve trauma that resulted in loss of vision.