Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Post-anesthetic cortical blindness and recovery in 20 cats
By Stiles, J et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2012·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Post-anesthetic cortical blindness in cats: twenty cases.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Twenty cats developed blindness after undergoing anesthesia for various procedures, such as dental work and neutering. Most of these cats also showed neurological problems, with some experiencing cardiac arrest during the process. Fortunately, 70% of the cats regained their vision, while a few remained blind, and some had neurological issues that improved over time. The use of mouth gags during anesthesia was noted as a possible risk factor for these complications. Overall, many cats recovered well, but a small number faced serious outcomes.
People also search for: cat blindness after anesthesia · cat neurological problems after surgery · cat recovery from anesthesia blindness
Abstract
The medical records of 20 cats with post-anesthetic cortical blindness were reviewed. Information collected included signalment and health status, reason for anesthesia, anesthetic protocols and adverse events, post-anesthetic visual and neurological abnormalities, clinical outcome, and risk factors. The vascular anatomy of the cat brain was reviewed by cadaver dissections. Thirteen cats were anaesthetised for dentistry, four for endoscopy, two for neutering procedures and one for urethral obstruction. A mouth gag was used in 16/20 cats. Three cats had had cardiac arrest, whereas in the remaining 17 cases, no specific cause of blindness was identified. Seventeen cats (85%) had neurological deficits in addition to blindness. Fourteen of 20 cats (70%) had documented recovery of vision, whereas four (20%) remained blind. Two cats (10%) were lost to follow up while still blind. Ten of 17 cats (59%) with neurological deficits had full recovery from neurological disease, two (12%) had mild persistent deficits and one (6%) was euthanased as it failed to recover. Four cats (23%) without documented resolution of neurological signs were lost to follow up. Mouth gags were identified as a potential risk factor for cerebral ischemia and blindness in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22381708/