Orbital emphysema: a potentially blinding complication following orbital fractures.

A case of visual loss due to orbital emphysema secondary to a blow-out fracture of the orbit is presented. Because vision returned to 20/20 following an optic nerve decompression procedure, we hypothesize that our patient developed a compressive optic neuropathy with ischemia due to the emphysema. Essential instructions concerning the injury that the emergency physician should give the patient suffering an orbital blow-out are also presented.