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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells and Imaging of Aortic Calcification and Inflammation
Published on: May 31, 2016
Multiple calcified deposits along the eyelid margins secondary to chronic renal failure and hyperparathyroidism
Harriette Moutopoulos Canellos1, Jeffrey Cooper, Anny Paek
1State University of New York, State College of Optometry, Department of Clinical Sciences, New York, New York 10036, USA. hcanellos@sunyopt.edu
Background:
Corneal and conjunctival calcification have been associated with chronic renal failure and hyperparathyroidism. Corneal alterations include band keratopathy and/or limbal involvement similar to limbal girdle of Vogt. Conjunctival lesions resemble pingueculae. Lid lesions, which include calcified deposits adjacent to the meibomian gland orifices, are much less common.
Case Report:
A 52-year-old woman came to SUNY State College of Optometry clinic with a medical history of gestational hypertension, which led to chronic kidney failure and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Slit-lamp examination revealed multiple small, white, round calcium deposits, which were found just posterior to the Meibomian gland orifices, along the superior and inferior lid margins.
Conclusion:
Ocular calcification has been observed in patients with certain systemic diseases such as chronic renal failure, hyperparathyroidism, hypophosphonemia, sarcoidosis, hypervitaminosis D, and metastatic neoplasia. We present the third report of eyelid calcification associated with a systemic disease.
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