Magnetic resonance imaging in lesions of the eye globe

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) findings in 22 patients with lesions of the globe were examined. There were 16 cases of malignant uveal melanoma, 2 cases of retinoblastoma, 3 cases of hemorrhagic choroidal detachment and 1 case of senile macula degeneration. MRI adequately depicted the lesions in 20 cases. In two cases MRI findings were unconclusive due to movement artifacts of the eye globe. Fourteen out of 16 uveal melanomas displayed typical T1 and T2 shortening. In the two other cases the hypointense aspect on T2-weighted images was less pronounced due to a lesser amount of melanin in the lesions as demonstrated by subsequent histology. Unlike with CT, the tumoral lesions could clearly be differentiated from subretinal exudate. The case of senile macula degeneration, two retinoblastomas and two cases of hemorrhagic choroidal detachment had the same MRI characteristics as melanomas.