Abstract
Purpose
To report a case of melanocytoma originating from the iris observed for the first time in Korea.
Case summary
A 53-year-old female with an unexpected iris mass was referred to our clinic. A round, 2.5 mm x 3.5 mm-sized iris mass was found on slit lamp examination in the 12 o'clock area of the patient's left eye. The mass was densely pigmented and had a smooth surface. Gonioscopy showed the mass had reached the peripheral cornea frontward and the lens backward. An excisional biopsy was performed for diagnosis. After the operation, a gonioscopic examination showed an intact ciliary body behind the surgical margin of the iris. A melancytoma of the iris was observed on subsequent histopathological examination. The patient has remained symptom-free with no iris mass recurrence since the operation.
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Figure 1.
Preoperative image of the iris mass (A) A slit lamp exam shows a 2.5 mm ×3.5 mm sized, brownish-black mass occupying 12 o'clock area of the iris. (B) The gonioscopic view of a protruded, convex mass that is contacting the posterior surface of the cornea and the anterior surface of the lens.
![jkos-55-789f1.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-55-789f1.gif)
Figure 2.
The postoperative image of the intact ciliary body behind the surgical margin of the iris shown through gonioscopic examination.
![jkos-55-789f2.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-55-789f2.gif)
Figure 3.
The histopathologic images of the specimen (A) Abundant melanin pigments obscuring nuclear details in the cytoplasm (×40). (B) Microscopic appearance of the specimen with polyhedral cells heavily pigmented with prominent nucleoli (× 400).
![jkos-55-789f3.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-55-789f3.gif)
Figure 4.
(A) A slit lamp examination at postoperative day 1. (B) A slit lamp examination at postoperative 3 month. The Photograph of the resected iris taken 3 months after excisional biopsy shows no recurrence. (Arrow: tinged corneal endothelial lesion by original mass shows no change between the intervals.)
![jkos-55-789f4.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/0035jkos/thumb/jkos-55-789f4.gif)