Temporary blindness after cosmetic blepharoplasty.

A patient who underwent a cosmetic blepharoplasty suffered a retrobulbar hemorrhage with no light perception deception detected when the dressing was removed two hours postoperatively. Opening the incision site led to the complete return of visual acuity and ocular motility and relief of the proptosis. The rebleeding of cauterized blood vessels may have caused the retrobulbar hemorrhage and seems to be a potential problem in all cosmetic blepharoplasties. Eliminating the use of postoperative bandages may prevent blindness after cosmetic blepharoplasty since it allows early detection of a retrobulbar hemmorrhage. This allows the nurse to check the patient for loss of vision and proptosis at ten-minute intervals for the first two hours after surgery so immediate treatment can be implemented if retrobulbar hemorrhage and central retinal artery occlusion occur.