[Conjunctival epidermoid carcinoma revealed by a chronic limbic corneal ulceration]

Conjunctival epidermoid carcinoma (CEC) is a rare tumor affecting mainly the perilimbal region of the bulbar conjunctiva. We report an atypical presentation of a CEC mimicking a Mooren pseudo-ulcer.

A 78-year-old man presented a limbic corneal ulcer of the left eye that had appeared a few months before. Ophthalmologic examination showed a thinning limbic corneal ulceration, associated with substantial conjunctival thickening. The diagnosis of Mooren pseudo-ulcer was first suspected. Etiological investigations were negative. The worsening of the corneal ulcer led us to perform surgical excision on the conjunctiva around the ulcer. Histologic examination concluded in an invasive conjunctival carcinoma. Adjuvant radiotherapy was required because of incomplete surgical excision and chorion tumoral invasion.