Monocular blindness: a complication of intraoperative positioning in posterior cervical spine surgery

Abstract

Postoperative visual loss after spine surgery is a rare but devastating complication. Although uncommon, reports of postoperative blindness are documented in spine and cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries with an incidence varying between 0.05 percent and one percent. A 62-year-old man presenting with cervical myelopathy underwent C3-C6 posterior laminectomy, decompression and lateral mass plating. Unfortunately, he developed unilateral blindness in his right eye. The potential aetiological factors and ways to prevent this disastrous complication are discussed.