• Omer Aydin, Ilknur Memisoglu, Murat Ozturk, and Ozgul Altintas.
• Kocaeli University Medical Faculty, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kocaeli, Turkey.
• Auris Nasus Larynx. 2008 Jun 1; 35 (2): 308-12.

BackgroundBlindness or visual deterioration after neck dissection is a known and a rare complication of the operation. Visual impairment usually occurs immediately after bilateral radical neck dissections either performed synchronously or in a stepwise manner, resulting in permanent blindness. Hypotension and blood loss during long operations, elevated venous pressure postoperatively result in optic neuropathies, which are anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION) or mostly posterior ischemic optic neuropathy (PION) affecting different portions of the nerve.MethodsReview of literature and case report.ResultsTo date there are only three cases of AION after neck dissection reported in the literature, with a different visual prognosis.ConclusionVision loss may be reversible when both internal jugular veins are preserved, but permanent when any of them are resected. Here we present the first case of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy developed after unilateral radical neck dissection, resulting in partial visual deterioration.

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