Cluster headache after cataract surgery.

BACKGROUND

Symptomatic cluster-like headache has been described with some ophthalmological disorders such as glaucoma, orbital myositis, posterior scleritis, enucleation, herpes zoster ophthalmicus, and cataract surgery.

METHODS

We report a new case of a 79-year-old nonsmoker woman who developed cluster-like symptoms 2 days after a cataract surgery and review the 2 previously reported cases.

CONCLUSIONS

The surgical technique of cataract removal involves corneal incision, which can trigger the trigeminal-autonomic reflex, a pathophysiological mechanism potentially implicated in idiopathic cluster headache. Differential diagnosis in these cases includes surgical and anesthetic complications.