CT Scan Suggesting Lesions of the Both Lateral Geniculate Bodies and the Calcarine Corteces in a Case of Traumatic Blindness

Abstract

A 29-year-old man fell down the stairs and suffered impact in the left temporo-parietal region. On the following day, although he was stuporous, motor disturbances and anisocoria were not observed, and both pupils normally reacted to light. Carotid angiography showed an avascular area in the left temporal area. Four days after the head injury he showed a generalized tonic-clonic convulsion. He became semicomatose with dilatation of bilateral pupils and decerebrate rigidity of all extremities. An immediate craniotomy was carried out and 100g. of epidural hematoma was removed. He became fully conscious 6 days after the operation, and he complained of blindness.
A CT scan performed 15 days after the operation revealed low density areas occupying the bilateral lateral geniculate bodies and the visual corteces, and these areas were enhanced by contrast medium. These lesions were diagnosed as infarction caused by compression of the posterior cerebral arteries resulting from tentorial herniation.
This is the first case reported in the literature.