Unilateral blindness due to patient positioning during cervical syringomyelia surgery: unilateral blindness after prone position

Abstract

During spinal surgery using a horseshoe headrest with the patient in the prone position, the possibility of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) increases, and its cause can be attributed primarily to excessive extraocular pressure, a very rare complication. This report describes a case of CRAO, occurring in an adult, after cervical syringomyelia surgery in which a horseshoe headrest was used.