Transient complete visual loss and subsequent cystoid macular edema after intracameral lidocaine injection following uneventful cataract surgery

PurposeTo report a case of transient visual loss following uncomplicated cataract surgery with unpreserved intracameral lidocaine.
MethodsA 61-year-old woman with nuclear sclerosis cataract underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification and in-the-bag intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.
ResultsAfter opening the eye patch on the first postoperative day, the patient complained of complete blindness. Her vision was no light perception (NLP) and the Marcus-Gunn was found to be 4. Eight hours later, the patient's visual acuity improved to count fingers at 1 m. After two days, the vision improved surprisingly to 20/20 without any Marcus-Gunn. After 4 weeks, the vision decreased surprisingly to 20/80 without any Marcus-Gunn. On this day, macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed, and cystoid macular edema was detected.
ConclusionTransient visual loss after intracameral lidocaine has been reported after violation of posterior capsule during cataract surgery, and here, we report a case of transient visual loss despite uncomplicated cataract surgery.