Findings of secondary corneal amyloidosis with ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography

Purpose: To describe observations by ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a secondary corneal amyloidosis (SCA) patient with histological analysis of excised tissue. A unique finding under OCT of her fellow eye is also described.

Case: A 39-year-old female had suffered from trichiasis in both of her eyes for more than 30 years. Slit-lamp examination showed a milky-white soft mass on her left cornea and a linear opacity on the fellow cornea at the cilia-attached region. OCT demonstrated the presence of a mass region within a thin epithelial layer and no destruction of Bowman’s layer in her left cornea. In the fellow cornea, which exhibited a linear opacity, a high-density spot in Bowman’s layer was observed at the cilia-attached region covered by the epithelial layer, with normal thickness. Histological examination of the excised cornea showed that the mass was positive with both Congo red and antilactoferrin antibody.

Conclusion: SCA, amyloid gradually accumulates above Bowman’s layer, occupying the epithelial layer, with no destruction of Bowman’s layer until the advanced stage. A high-density spot in Bowman’s layer might be the first stage of SCA.