[A case of transient cortical blindness due to reversible ischemic neurological deficit (RIND) after caesarean section under lumbar anesthesia].

We report a case of 31-year-old woman with pregnant toxicosis, who developed transient blindness after caesarean section under lumbar anesthesia. The patient was hypoxic due to atelectasis when she developed blindness, but she had no ophthalmologic abnormalities. MRI depicted abnormal high intensity areas (HIA) with T 2-weighted images (T 2 WI) in the occipital lobes and the basal ganglia. CT could not detect any of these MRI findings. The patient regained her vision four days after the onset. The HIA disappeared in a follow up MRI (T 2 WI) two weeks after the onset. The patient was diagnosed as cortical blindness due to RIND. Although most of the transient cortical blindness are accompanied with pregnant toxicosis with hypertension, there are some cases without pregnant toxicosis. We stress the importance of maintaining the blood pressure within the normal range in patients with hypertension who undergo surgery under spinal anesthesia.