Repair of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Following Globe Perforation by Retrobulbar Anesthesia

Globe perforation following retrobulbar or peribulbar anesthetic injection is a rare but dreaded complication that often results in suboptimal visual outcomes. This video describes a 72-year-old woman who sustained a globe perforation during retrobulbar block in the setting of cataract extraction and later developed a retinal detachment. The retina was repaired with pars plana vitrectomy and silicone oil, resulting in a favorable visual outcome. The authors discuss various modes of local anesthesia for vitreoretinal surgery, risks for globe perforations, and how to approach retinal detachment secondary to needle perforations, which are complex cases at high risk for proliferative vitreoretinopathy.