Introduction: Retro-bulbar block is still Oximeters safe and widely employed anesthetic technique in large volume routine cataract surgery.Nevertheless, the procedure is not free of complication.Case report: A 48 years old man who had small incision cataract surgery of left eye under retro-bulbar block, had vision of hand movement close to face on his first postoperative day.
He was given intracameral cefuroxime and subconjunctival gentamycin at Beginner / Intermediate the end of the surgery.Fundoscopy of the operated eye showed marked retinal whitening with cherry-red spot in the posterior pole suggestive of cilio-retinal artery occlusion.Optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography were done to support and confirm the diagnosis.
Conclusion: Retinal artery occlusion secondary to retro-bulbar block or drug induced toxicity following routine cataract surgery is unusual and sometimes dreadful vision threatening complication can occur.