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Abstract #5771 Published in IGR 2-1
Delayed anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after neck dissection
Goette K; Riedel F; Knorz MC; Hoermann KArchives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2000; 126:220-223
There are only two published cases of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) occurring after neck dissection, to the authors' knowledge. They report a case of bilateral AION following neck dissection, discuss the differential diagnoses, and compare the features of this case with those of previously described cases. There were none of the previously described risk factors for the development of AION after head and neck surgery (e.g., hypotension, facial edema, or sudden massive hemorrhage) in this case, but there was prolonged diffuse postoperative bleeding. Also, the symptoms did not arise before the fifth postoperative day, as they did in the other cases. Prolonged, mild postoperative bleeding is a risk factor for AION. Visual loss during the entire first postoperative week has to be regarded as a complication of surgery, requires the exclusion of several differential diagnoses, and must not be confounded with the patient's confusion or symptoms of withdrawal.
Dr. K. Goette, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital, Mannheim, Germany
