Preparedness for patient safety in orbital regional anesthesia in Nepal.

Eye surgeries are performed mostly under orbital regional anesthesia (blocks) owing to their reliability and high patient acceptance. The most commonly used orbital regional blocks include retro-bulbar (intraconal), peri-bulbar (extra-conal) and sub-tenon named according to the site of deposition of local anesthetic agent. Many variations of these block techniques do also exist. Although these block techniques are considered relatively safe, they are not without any risks. Retro-bulbar hemorrhage, globe damage, optic nerve injury, brain-stem anesthesia, myotoxicity of extra-ocular muscles, 7 cranial nerve palsy and oculocardiac reflex are some of the known significant complications of these blocks (Kumar, 2006).