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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming a very useful diagnostic tool for the ophthalmologist. However, there is still some confusion among ophthalmologists and other clinicians regarding ordering and interpreting imaging studies. The role of MRI in the evaluation of vitreoretinal lesions is reviewed in this article by emphasizing the MR features of retinal tumors and simulating retinal or vitreal lesions. A special description of MR requirements for imaging the intraocular structures is provided as well as a review of the MR features of solid and fluid materials used in retinal surgery.

A 73-year-old man had only light perception vision from a slowly enlarging fleshy papillomatous mass covering the entire cornea. The lesion was excised completely, leaving a clear corneal bed and 20/25 vision. Histopathologically, the lesion was found to be squamous cell carcinoma in situ with early microinvasion of the basement membrane. Viral studies for human papilloma virus were negative. This case represents a massive superficial involvement of the cornea by squamous cell carcinoma and shows the resistance of Bowman's membrane to tumor penetration.

An 81-year-old man with metastatic prostate carcinoma underwent a penetrating keratoplasty for phlyctenular keratitis. Two years later he developed a fleshy, vascular mass in the superotemporal corneal graft wound, at the site of prior graft sutures. An excisional biopsy of the mass was performed to rule out metastatic carcinoma. Histopathological findings were consistent with pyogenic granuloma. To our knowledge there have been no prior case reports illustrating pyogenic granuloma as a late complication of penetrating keratoplasty.

The management of intraocular tumours has come a long way since the days when enucleation was the only modality of treatment available to the ophthalmologist. Despite the fact that enucleation is still necessary in certain situations, the emphasis is currently on conservative management, thereby saving the eye and some amount of useful vision wherever possible. This review highlights the current trends in the management of adult intraocular tumours with emphasis on newer diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and fine needle aspiration biopsy. Only those tumours that are most likely to be seen in clinical practice are included.

The management of uveal melanoma has evolved tremendously for the past century, and more recently there is a trend toward more focal conservative treatment. Enucleation is still performed for large uveal melanoma when there is no hope for useful vision with conservative treatment. Plaque radiotherapy is particularly recommended for medium- or small-sized uveal melanoma. Special custom-designed plaque radiotherapy can be used for iris, ciliary body, or juxtapapillary choroidal melanoma. Charged-particle irradiation constitutes an alternative treatment modality for posterior uveal melanoma. However, charged-particle therapy is limited by the availability of appropriate therapeutic facilities. Local tumor resection using lamellar sclerouvectomy is mainly suitable for selected iris, ciliary body, or anterior choroidal tumors with smaller basal dimension and greater thickness. Ablative laser photocoagulation is indicated for very selected cases of small posterior choroidal uveal melanoma. Combined plaque radiotherapy with indirect ophthalmoscope laser therapy appears to be a more effective local tumor treatment plan than plaque radiotherapy alone. Transpupillary thermotherapy is the newest modality used as primary treatment or as complementary method to brachytherapy for treatment of selected choroidal melanomas. Hyperthermia with infrared irradiation below photocoagulation level produces tumor necrosis with few ocular complications. Based on the published ophthalmic literature, it seems that enucleation carries the same survival prognosis as each of the conservative treatment modalities.

We conducted this study to determine whether occurrence of primary uveal melanoma in the setting of familial atypical mole and melanoma (F A M-M) syndrome (an autosomal dominant cutaneous preneoplastic syndrome) follows a pattern of a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome. A retrospective review of 4600 consecutive patients with primary uveal melanoma revealed eight patients with biopsy-proven F A M-M syndrome. The clinical profile of these patients was studied and their kindreds analyzed. In patients with F A M-M syndrome, the uveal melanoma occurred at a relatively young age (mean 40 years; range 10-52 years). The diagnosis of F A M-M syndrome preceded or followed the diagnosis of uveal melanoma by as much as 10 years. None of the patients had an associated nonmelanocytic malignancy. Three of the eight patients had a positive family history of melanoma (cutaneous melanoma (2) and uveal melanoma (1). The authors conclude that the occurrence of primary uveal melanoma in the setting of F A M-M syndrome does not follow a clear pattern of a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome.

There have been many recent advances in the diagnosis and management of children with retinoblastoma. Regarding diagnosis, the judicial use of ancillary studies, particularly B-scan ultrasonography, has been instrumental in supplementing the diagnosis when opaque media preclude a clear view of the underlying neoplasm. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are important in the early detection of associated pinealoblastoma, which occurs as part of the recently described syndrome of "trilateral retinoblastoma." With regard to management, the technique of enucleation continues to improve and the scleralized hydroxyapatite implant is now available to provide a better cosmetic appearance and better motility of the artificial eye. Methods have been described for harvesting fresh tumor tissue immediately after enucleation for special DNA studies. Recent reports have documented a decreasing frequency of enucleation and an increasing tendency to use eye-preserving methods of management. Plaque radiotherapy, which provides more localized irradiation to the specific tumor, is gradually supplanting external beam irradiation for localized retinoblastoma that does not exhibit extensive vitreous seeding. The indications and contraindications for cryotherapy and photocoagulation have been more clearly delineated. The role of chemotherapy is being evaluated in the treatment of primary retinoblastoma and for metastatic disease. New breakthroughs in genetic research are being applied to clinical genetic counseling. The prognosis for life and for preservation of vision has improved greatly in recent years.

The coral-derived hydroxyapatite sphere is a popular, new integrated orbital implant designed to provide improved motility of the ocular prosthesis following enucleation. Although the implant has rapidly become widely used by ophthalmologists, there is little information available regarding the complications of this technique in a large series of cases. We report our results on our initial 250 consecutive cases of hydroxyapatite implantation for eyes enucleated primarily for intraocular neoplasms, with specific emphasis on the complication an their management. The reasons for enucleation included uveal melanoma (157 cases), retinoblastoma (70 cases), blind painful eye (22 cases), and intraocular medulloepithelioma (1 case). Prior treatment to the eye was performed before enucleation in 47 cases and included repair of ruptured globe (17 cases), plaque radiotherapy (18 cases), external beam radiotherapy (6 cases), and others (6 cases). During a mean of 23 months follow-up (range, 6 to 42 months), there have been no recognizable cases of orbital hemorrhage related to the implant and no cases of implant extrusion or implant migration. There was one case of presumed orbital infection (culture-negative) that resolved with intravenous antibiotics, and the implant was retained within the orbit. Other problems included conjunctival thinning in eight cases managed by observation and prosthesis adjustment and conjunctival erosion in four cases managed by combinations of scleral patch graft, conjunctival flap, and prosthesis adjustment. The conjunctival erosion was caused by a poorly fitting prosthesis in three cases and wound dehiscence in one case. The complication rate in eyes receiving prior radiotherapy or surgery was not increased. The hydroxyapatite integrated orbital implant is a well-tolerated motility implant without the high rate of extrusion and infection seen with other motility implants.

A 10-year-old girl developed a lump in the lateral aspect of the right eyebrow over a 3-week period. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a soft-tissue mass in the superolateral aspect of the right orbit associated with zygo-maticofrontal bone erosion and hyperostosis. An incisional biopsy specimen was studied using light microscopy, immunohistochemical staining, and electron microscopy, resulting in a diagnosis of peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor. The results of an extensive evaluation for systemic involvement were negative. The patient was subsequently treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the orbit is rare. The differential diagnosis and the diagnostic features of this entity are discussed herein.

A 35-year-old woman developed painful proptosis of the left eye over a period of 3 weeks. Orbital computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-circumscribed superior orbital tumor with variable density. The mass was removed entirely by way of a superior orbitotomy. Histopathologically, it was found to be a neurofibroma. The patient had no clinical findings of neurofibromatosis. The presence of extensive myxomatous degeneration and the dense collection of collagen bundles in the tumor are correlated with the unusual computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging features.