Acute subconjunctival pigmentation with an underlying ciliary body mass: An unusual case presentation

Intraocular melanocytoma is a rare slowly growing benign tumor that may occur anywhere along the uveal tract including the ciliary body but is more commonly found near the optic disc. It is darkly pigmented and may exhibit fast growth and possibly malignant transformation. Ciliary body (CB) melanocytoma is rare and often misdiagnosed as a melanoma. We are reporting a case of CB melanocytoma in a 74-year old lady with unusual initial presentation of an acute onset of subconjunctival pigmentation and extra-scleral extension of the melanocytoma with coarse melanin granules. The diagnosis of melanocytoma was confirmed by histopathological examination of the prolapsed tissue and by ultrastructural studies. Literature review of similar cases is also summarized.