Respiratory arrest after local anesthesia for outpatient cataract surgery: a dramatic but transient complication

Retrobulbar injection of anesthetic agents is common practice before ophthalmologic procedures. Rare but life-threatening complications of this procedure include respiratory depression and coma. We present the case of a woman with complete respiratory arrest and unresponsiveness who was brought into our emergency department from a local freestanding surgical center after preoperative retrobulbar anesthetic injection. Subsequently, the pathogenesis, clinical features, and supportive treatment for this dramatic but transient complication are discussed.