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Systemic amyloidosis presenting as a mass of the conjunctival semilunar fold
J A Shields1, R C Eagle, C L Shields
1Oncology Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Purpose:
To report a case of systemic amyloidosis that presented as a mass of the plica semilunaris (semilunar fold) of the conjunctiva.
Methods:
Case report.
Results:
A healthy 56-year-old man developed a fleshy, hemorrhagic lesion of the semilunar fold of the left conjunctiva. Excisional biopsy revealed an acellular lesion of the conjunctival stroma that stained positively for Congo red and showed apple-green birefringence and dichroism with polarization microscopy. The diagnosis was amyloidosis of the semilunar fold of the conjunctiva. Subsequent evaluation disclosed systemic amyloidosis. The patient remains asymptomatic.
Conclusions:
Although conjunctival amyloidosis usually occurs as a localized lesion without systemic involvement, it can be the initial sign of systemic amyloidosis.