1. Conjunctival Pyogenic Granuloma Masquerading as Malignant Melanoma
- Author
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Amjad U Furniturewala, Akshay Gopinathan Nair, Priyanka R Rao, and Indumati Gopinathan
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Conjunctiva ,conjunctiva ,Pyogenic granuloma ,business.industry ,Capillary hemangioma ,Melanoma ,General Engineering ,chalazion ,medicine.disease ,Dermatology ,Lesion ,Ophthalmology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Oncology ,Chalazion ,eyelid tumor ,pigmented tumor ,medicine ,melanoma ,Histopathology ,medicine.symptom ,Topical Steroid Therapy ,business ,eye cancer - Abstract
Pyogenic granuloma is a common, benign, vascular growth that often appears as a rapidly growing mass on mucus membrane-lined surfaces such as the conjunctiva. Conjunctival pyogenic granulomas are common following trauma, burst chalazion or ill-fitting prosthesis. Also known as 'lobular capillary hemangiomas', these lesions typically appear bright red, fleshy and pedunculated. Treatment options include excision, topical steroid therapy and topical beta-blocker therapy. In this communication, the authors describe a rapidly enlarging, pedunculated black coloured conjunctival mass lesion in a 44-year-old woman, who had a recent history of chalazia. Given the location and the clinical appearance, a melanocytic tumour was suspected and the mass was excised. Histopathology and immunohistochemical studies confirmed the diagnosis to be consistent with that of a a necrotic pyogenic granuloma. Pigmented lesions of the conjunctiva, especially rapidly enlarging ones, need to be viewed with a high degree of suspicion to rule out malignant melanoma. Rarely though, benign lesions such as pyogenic granulomas that undergo necrosis may masquerade as conjunctival melanomas.
- Published
- 2021