A Case of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion after Chiropractic Manipulation of the Neck by a Massagist

1. Hochang Kim¹
2. Youngjun Jang¹
3. Eoksoo Suh¹

¹Ophthalmology, Dongguk University Gyeongju Hospital, Gyeongbuk, South Korea

Purpose : To report a case of central retinal artery occlusion after chiropractic manipulation on the neck.

Methods : A 49-year old man presented at the hospital because of sudden visual loss of his right eye after chiropractic neck manipulation. He received chiropractic manipulation of the neck by a chiropractor eight days ago. The best corrected visual acuity was hand motion in his right eye when he first visited us. Full ophthalmic examination was performed. There was cherry-red spot in the macula in his right eye. We performed fluorescein angiogram and cervical color doppler. The arterio-venous transit time in fluorescein angiogram was delayed and we detected stenosis of the right internal carotid artery with diffuse atherosclerotic plaques in the right common carotid artery. We prescribed ginko biloba extract (tanamin®).

Results : Three years after first visit, the best corrected visual acuity of his right eye was 20/ 200.

Conclusions :We report a rare case of central retinal artery occlusion after massage on posterior neck.