What Researchers Did
Doctors describe the case of a woman who lost vision in one eye due to a blocked retinal artery about a week after a routine nose reshaping surgery.
What They Found
This case report describes a 32-year-old woman whose best corrected visual acuity dropped to 0.3 in the left eye (versus 1.0 in the right eye) after rhinoplasty, with a pale area in the lower macula and a matching visual field loss. Optical coherence tomography showed increased thickness and hyperreflectivity in the inner retinal layers of the affected eye, and fluorescein angiography at that time showed no nonperfusion and a normal vascular structure. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was recommended. At a 2-month follow-up exam, the left eye's visual acuity had improved to 0.9, the pale macular area had regressed, and the visual field test showed a little progression.
Canadian Relevance
No direct Canadian connection identified.
Study Limitations
As a single case report with no control group, it cannot determine whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy, natural recovery, or another factor caused the improvement in vision.