Acute non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy following conjunctival malignant melanoma excision

The aim of the study was to report a patient who developed acute non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy following con-junctival melanoma excisional biopsy. An otherwise healthy 55-year-old man presented with a 3-month history of progres-sively growing pigmented lesion in the left eye. Clinical examination revealed a dark pigmented conjunctival lesion adjacent to temporal limbus with an evident feeder vessel. With the initial diagnosis of conjunctival melanoma; excisional biopsy, alcohol epitheliectomy, cryotherapy (double-thaw), episclerectomy, and amniotic membrane transplantation for ocular sur-face reconstruction were performed. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Four months after surgical intervention, sudden visual loss in the operated eye occurred. According to detailed neuro-ophthalmological examination, patient was diagnosed as acute non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy. Non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy is a mul-tifactorial disease and may occur after several ophthalmic surgeries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy following conjunctival melanoma excision.