[Four cases of diplopia following spinal anesthesia]

Many complications after spinal anesthesia have been reported, but diplopia is rare. We had four cases of diplopia in 794 cases of spinal anesthesia in three years at Nara Medical University Hospital. These 4 cases were not characterized by any major factors including gender, age, or anesthetic choice. However, two of them were accompanied with post-spinal headache. Diplopia in three cases improved spontaneously, but one finally required epidural blood patch for the persistent diplopia. Lack of concern regarding the possibility of post-spinal diplopia among medical staffs might be common because this incidence is really rare. However, we need to know the possibility of this neurological sequel after spinal anesthesia. We would like to propose that the informed consent regarding spinal anesthesia should include the possibility of this complication and anesthesiologists should perform intensive neurological examinations after spinal anesthesia concerning post-spinal diplopia.