In a rare but devastating complication that has long confounded surgeons, anesthesia providers and ophthalmologists, some healthy patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery suffer unexpected post-operative blindness. Writing in this month's issue of the journal Anesthesiology, researchers have identified patients at risk of and practices that contribute to this rare complication…"Rare events are nearly impossible to study," says Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist Mark A. Warner, MD, in an accompanying editorial. "Until now, there have been no data to support speculation on etiologies of ION in spine fusion patients."

Outpatient Surgery, By Daniel Cook, 1/10/2012

Tags: Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester