Symptomatic visual deficits after open heart operations.

Symptomatic visual deficits occurred in 4 patients in a series of 700 open heart operations performed by one of us (D.M.S.). The causes of these deficits were retinal emboli, occipital lobe infarction, and anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. The pathophysiology and clinical presentation of these complications are discussed, and previous reports of postoperative visual complications are reviewed.