Letter to the Editor Bilateral Visual Loss after Liposuction: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Severe visual loss after a general surgical procedure can be a devastating complication for both surgeon and patient. Although visual loss can be the result of damage to any structure in the eye, most cases of such a complication are the result of ischemic damage to both the anterior and posterior portions of the optic nerve. Ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) is therefore a potentially devastating and untreatable, albeit rare complication of general surgery, usually occurring in the immediate postoperative period. Precipitating factors for such occurrences include prolonged hypotension, anemia, significant intraoperative hydration, surgical trauma, gastrointestinal bleeding, hemorrhage, shock, and long operative times, usually occurring after cardiopulmonary, orthopedic, and neurosurgical procedures. Recently, 3 cases of ION after liposuction, a simple and commonly performed operation, have been reported. The purpose of this paper is to report 1 further case of this unusual event and to review the possible mechanisms and preventive measures for such an occurrence.