As. Mayer et Re. Oconnor, RESPIRATORY ARREST AFTER LOCAL-ANESTHESIA FOR OUTPATIENT CATARACT-SURGERY - A DRAMATIC BUT TRANSIENT COMPLICATION, Annals of emergency medicine, 22(8), 1993, pp. 1357-1359
Retrobulbar injection of anesthetic agents is common practice before o
phthalmologic procedures. Rare but life-threatening complications of t
his procedure include respiratory depression and coma. We present the
case of a woman with complete respiratory arrest and unresponsiveness
who was brought into our emergency department from a local freestandin
g surgical center after preoperative retrobulbar anesthetic injection.
Subsequently, the pathogenesis, clinical features, and supportive tre
atment for this dramatic but transient complication are discussed.