Blindness as a complication of rhinosurgery.

Three cases of unilateral permanent and severe visual impairment after rhinosurgery are reported. In two cases the pathogenesis appeared to be vascular disturbances in the ophthalmic arteries, possibly caused by intra-arterial injection of local anesthetics in combination with adrenaline. Retrograde flow into the ophthalmic arteries is anatomically possible and has been shown in earlier reports. In the third case direct surgical trauma, probably in connection with infarction of the inferior choncha, appeared to be the cause.