Non‐traumatic orbital haemorrhage as a complication of emergence from anaesthesia

Abstract

SummaryWe present the case of a 54‐yr‐old female who awoke following general anaesthesia with a right‐sided non‐traumatic spontaneous orbital haemorrhage and was subsequently discovered to have an underlying orbital cavernous haemangioma. Spontaneous orbital haemorrhage following emergence from anaesthesia is rare.The occurrence of non‐traumatic spontaneous orbital haemorrhage associated with general anaesthesia requires urgent assessment for compressive optic neuropathy, and investigation with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for evidence of underlying orbital venous anomalies, such as an orbital varix, cavernous haemangioma, or lymphangioma.