Ophthalmic Artery Occlusion Following Transconjunctival Orbitotomy

Postoperative blindness after orbital surgery is an extremely rare and a disastrous complication. Ophthalmic artery occlusion as a cause of such unexpected vision loss has not been documented in literature. The authors report a case of a middle aged man who developed sudden vision loss due to ophthalmic artery occlusion following transconjunctival excision of orbital schwanomma. The possible mechanisms contributing to the loss of vision are discussed and preventive strategies are suggested to reduce the incidence of this complication.