Surgical Approach for Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance-Related Ocular Copper Deposition

The aim of this study was to present the surgical management of a patient with ocular copper deposition associated with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).

This is a case report of a 44-year-old man with MGUS who presented to us with bilateral diffuse deposition of copper in the cornea and lens.

Despite initiating systemic therapy for MGUS, no corneal clearing was observed. A decision was made to proceed with cataract extraction in the left eye given worsening vision. Despite trypan blue staining and a central descemetorhexis, visualization remained too poor to complete phacoemulsification. Pars plana lensectomy and vitrectomy to remove the residual lens material and placement of a posterior chamber intraocular lens in the sulcus with endoillumination was subsequently performed. As vision in the left eye steadily improved postoperatively, cataract surgery was then performed in the right eye. With use of trypan blue, creation of a 6-mm central descemetorhexis, and a retinal light pipe for endoillumination anteriorly to augment visualization, capsulorhexis, phacoemulsification, and insertion of intraocular lens in the bag were completed without difficulty. The patient's vision improved at subsequent follow-ups, reaching a final best-corrected visual acuity of 20/20-1 in the right eye and 20/25-1 in the left eye.

Ocular copper deposition is a rare manifestation of MGUS. Cataract extraction is challenging, often requiring advanced techniques. Endoillumination is useful to improve visualization through the dense corneal copper deposition.