Ocular Ischemic Syndrome: The Red Eye Revisited

Abstract

Ocular ischemic syndrome (OIS) is a vision-threatening condition due to inadequate arterial supply to the orbital contents. OIS is commonly described secondary to severe carotid artery stenosis and most often observed by ophthalmologists. However, OIS may rarely also result in an interventional radiology setup during balloon test occlusion (BTO) of the internal carotid artery. BTO is a procedure to assess for the adequacy of the circle of Willis to compensate for a permanent parent arterial sacrifice by temporarily occluding the flow in the internal carotid artery using a balloon. Here, we present a case of OIS in a patient who underwent BOT as a part of presurgical evaluation for the excision of carotid body tumor.