Lipoplasty and blindness

Lipoplasty is considered a relatively safe procedure when performed by qualified surgical specialists following accepted standards of care. Blindness has never been reported as a complication of lipoplasty in the plastic surgery literature. In this report, however, two cases of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy that resulted in blindness following lipoplasty, and were previously reported in neurological journals, are summarized. Implications for plastic surgeons of this rare but devastating complication are discussed.