Transient central retinal artery occlusion and contralateral amaurosis after retrobulbar anesthetic injection.

A transient, ipsilateral central retinal artery occlusion and contralateral amaurosis developed following retrobulbar injection of 2% lidocaine and 0.75% bupivacaine. A computerized tomography scan obtained 1 1/2 hours following the injection demonstrated an air bubble within the ipsilateral optic nerve sheath. This case further supports the view that intranerve sheath injection can cause these two complications associated with retrobulbar anesthesia.