Contralateral decreased visual acuity and extraocular muscle palsies following retrobulbar anesthesia

Numerous complications resulting from retrobulbar injections in the injected eye and orbit have been reported. A rare complication of retrobulbar anesthesia is the occurrence of decreased visual acuity and extraocular muscle palsies in the contralateral eye. We report three cases of contralateral dysfunction of cranial nerves II and III, following retrobulbar anesthesia. None of the patients suffered permanent sequelae. Several methods of decreasing the probability of such an occurrence are discussed.