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Scleral melt after cryotherapy for conjunctival melanoma
S M Tucker1, J J Hurwitz, C J Pavlin
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
The authors report a patient with a cryotherapy-induced scleral melt after combined excision and cryotherapy of a conjunctival melanoma arising within primary acquired melanosis with atypia.
Findings:
In a 65-year-old white man, a severe scleral melt developed within 1 month of complete excision of a superficial conjunctival melanoma combined with double-freeze-thaw nitrous oxide cryotherapy to the scleral bed and surrounding conjunctival margins. Ultrasound biomicroscopy showed the degree of scleral thinning.
Conclusions:
Although many complications associated with cryotherapy have been described in the literature, there are no reports of a scleral melt. Scleral melt is a potential complication of cryotherapy that can occur despite taking precautions and should be monitored in the first few weeks after cryotherapy to the scleral bed of excised conjunctival tumors.