Bilateral corneal melting in a patient with paraneoplastic pemphigus

An 80-year-old man, with a solid abdominal tumor and multiple skin lesions, was admitted to the hospital because of a perforated right cornea and an impending perforation of the left. The clinical, histological, immunohistological and immunoprecipitation findings of the skin lesions were consistent with Anhalt's criteria for paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). The underlying malignancy proved to be an incurable peripheral neuronal shaft tumor. Both conjunctivae appeared normal. The right eye revealed a flat anterior chamber, due to a spontaneous, central corneal perforation. The central part of the left cornea had severely thinned, resulting in a descemetocele, which eventually perforated. Multiple surgical interventions were needed to restore the anterior chamber in both eyes. Although a causative association between PNP and corneal perforation could not be demonstrated, we think that corneal melting should be added to the list of ocular complications in patients with PNP. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.