Chest pain in the postoperative ophthalmic patient.

A retrospective analysis of the postoperative ophthalmic surgical mortality during the 20-year period ending in 1974 at the Jules Stein Eye Institute was performed. Eleven of 17,632 patients died following ophthalmic surgery (0.062%). Frequently, the cause of death was related to pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or pneumonia. The postoperative complications were often heralded by complaints referable to the chest, and misdiagnosis was common. A simplified approach to postoperative chest pain based on location is presented.