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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
Full-Field Optical Coherence Microscopy for Histology-Like Analysis of Stromal Features in Corneal Grafts
Published on: October 21, 2022
Slit-lamp, confocal, and light microscopic findings of corneal siderosis
S Robert Witherspoon1, R Nick Hogan, W Matthew Petroll
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9057, USA.
Purpose:
To report the clinical, histopathologic, and confocal findings of corneal siderosis.
Methods:
A 35-year-old man presented after a car battery explosion with diffuse left corneal anterior stromal pigment deposition and an intraocular metallic foreign body of the left iris. The corneal pigment was analyzed by confocal microscopy and a lamellar corneal biopsy.
Results:
Confocal microscopy showed the pigment to be highly reflective material in the corneal stroma with greatest density anteriorly. Histologic examination revealed the pigment to be iron with a diagnosis consistent with corneal siderosis.
Conclusions:
Corneal biopsy with Prussian blue established siderosis as the etiology of corneal pigmentation. A short delay in the removal of the foreign body contributed to the development of siderosis. The location of the foreign body on the iris may account for the predominant corneal involvement and relative sparing of the retina. Confocal microscopy may be useful in the evaluation of corneal siderosis.
