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Bone sarcoidosis of the skull is an infrequent presentation of sarcoidosis. We describe a 51-year-old man who consulted due to inflammatory-appearing nodulation in the right supraorbital region. Images showed a solitary osteolytic lesion extending to soft tissues with increased scintigraphic uptake. The anatomopathological study revealed the presence of non-caseating epithelioid granulomas, compatible with sarcoidosis. Steroid treatment led to a marked remission of the lesion, without evidence of relapse during a follow-up period of 1 year. The literature dealing with skull sarcoidosis is reviewed.

Background: Cutaneous horn (cornu cutaneum) is a morphological designation for a protuberant mass of keratin that resembles the horn of an animal. It results from unusual cohesiveness of keratinized material from the superficial layers of the skin or implanted deeply in the cutis. This lesion may be associated with a benign, premalignant, or malignant lesion at the base, masking numerous conditions., Methods: A retrospective analysis of 48 cases of cutaneous horns of the eyelid treated between 1992 and 2002 has been performed., Results: Twenty-four men and 19 women, with a mean age of 62 years (range 16-90), were treated by surgery. Histologically, 77.1% were associated with benign specimens at the base pathology, 14.6% were premalignant, and finally, 8.3% were caused by malignant skin tumors. The most common lesion was seborrheic keratosis among the benign lesions, actinic keratosis among the premalignant ones, and basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma among the malignant ones., Conclusion: Cutaneous horns usually appear on exposed skin areas in elderly men. The important issue in this condition is not the horn itself, which is just dead keratin, but rather the nature of the underlying disease, although the horns are usually benign.

Purpose: To determine the pathophysiology and to discuss possible solutions for tube obstruction since this is a frequent complication in glaucoma drainage device surgery., Material and Methods: 81 eyes with a glaucoma drainage device (GDD) fitted by our Department during the last twelve years (1991-2002) were retrospectively reviewed and eleven cases of tube obstruction were detected. The treatments included Nd-Yag laser, anterior vitrectomy, blood clot removal and intracamerular rTPA., Results: The obstruction was proximal in ten cases and distal in one. Of the former, the obstruction was caused by a blood clot in six cases, by vitreous in three cases and by a fibrinous membrane in one case. The nature of the distal obstruction was not determined. One case of vitreous obstruction occurred after a posterior capsulotomy with Nd-Yag laser two years after positioning the GDD. Complete success was achieved in five cases, and partial success in three where antiglaucoma therapy had to be maintained postoperatively. Complete failure was found in the other three cases., Conclusions: The material which most frequently caused the tube obstruction was blood and although in some cases this may resolve spontaneously, clot removal with forceps or rTPA intracameral injection may be helpful. In vitreous obstruction, Nd-Yag laser may temporariril clear the tube, but extensive anterior vitrectomy is required to maintain long-term permeability. We suggest carrying out a small posterior capsulotomy in pseudophakic patients with a GDD.