A case of Mooren's ulcer associated with a pterygium

Bilateral Aggressive Mooren Ulcer in the Setting of Bilateral Pterygia and Pregnancy: A Unique Case

PURPOSE

To report an unusual case of bilateral aggressive Mooren ulcer that occurred in the setting of bilateral pterygia and showed a relentless course during pregnancy.

METHODS

A 39-year-old woman of Black African ethnicity, 36-week pregnant, presented to the eye casualty with bilateral nasal corneal ulcer and associated melt around preexisting pterygia. A detailed workup including microbial evaluation, culture and sensitivity, polymerase chain reaction for herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus, and cytomegalovirus, inflammatory blood profile, autoimmune markers, and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) screening was undertaken. Treatment was initiated in a stepwise approach.

RESULTS

Infections and systemic autoimmune and rheumatologic conditions were ruled out. A diagnosis of bilateral Mooren ulcer was made by exclusion. The peripheral blood was positive for HLA DQ2. As the condition seemed refractory to medical management (topical steroids and intravenous pulse methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisolone and topical cyclosporine), urgent bilateral conjunctival resection with multilayered amniotic membrane transplantation was performed to reduce the inflammatory stimulus and keratolysis. Stabilization of the condition warranted the need for systemic immunosuppressive agents. Using a multidisciplinary approach, in liaison with Obstetricians and Rheumatologists, the patient was planned for an earlier elective Cesarean section and commencement of oral mycophenolate mofetil postpartum, which aided in successful control of the disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Mooren ulcer could follow an aggressive course during pregnancy, especially in the setting of preexisting pterygium. The complex hormonal and immunological changes during pregnancy and the delivery of inflammatory mediators directly onto the cornea by pterygium could contribute to the severity. A well-planned, stepwise, and multidisciplinary management is pivotal for the treatment of this condition.

Evaluation of Mooren's corneal ulcer by anterior segment optical coherence tomography

BACKGROUND

This study evaluates the use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) to identify focal changes and inform surgical plans in eyes with Mooren's ulcer.

METHODS

A total of 18 eyes of 17 patients with Mooren's ulcer were examined prospectively using the AS-OCT system.

RESULTS

Optical hyperreflectivity noted on AS-OCT images was in accordance with corneal ulceration, neovascularization, fibrovascular membranes, the junction of the native stromal bed, and the overlying lamellar corneal grafts. Focal corneal ectasia was observed in 13 eyes with a decrease in corneal thickness to ≤0.39 mm. There was a cut-off value of 0.39 mm in corneal thickness between the eyes with and without focal corneal ectasia in the thinned corneal area (Fisher = 0.383, χ2 = 14.873, P = 0.000). Based on the AS-OCT findings, six eyes were subjected to an individualized lamellar corneal graft. The thickness of the residual cornea after surgery was 47 ± 34 μm less than the presumed healthy corneal thickness before surgery (t = 3.376, P = 0.02). A small corneal perforation covered by a pseudopterygium in Mooren's ulcer was found through AS-OCT but undetectable by slit-lamp biomicroscopy.

CONCLUSIONS

AS-OCT is a valuable non-contact technique for monitoring corneal thinning in Mooren's ulcer, and assisting surgical design. A decrease in peripheral corneal thickness to ≤0.39 mm may cause focal corneal ectasia.

Treatment of Mooren's ulcer coexisting with a pterygium using an intrastromal lenticule obtained from small-incision lenticule extraction: case report and literature review

The coexistence of Mooren’s ulcer and a pterygium is an extremely rare ocular condition that has been infrequently reported in the literature to date. We herein present the first case of treatment of Mooren’s ulcer coexisting with a pterygium using a lenticule obtained by myopic small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). A 61-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of recurrent ocular pain and red eye caused by Mooren’s ulcer coexisting with a pterygium. She received topical immunosuppressive and anti-infection treatments for almost 3 months. However, her ocular symptoms and signs did not substantially improve. Therefore, we performed lamellar keratoplasty with a corneal lenticule obtained by SMILE, followed by pterygium excision combined with conjunctival autografting. The patient recovered well with no complications or recurrence 1 year postoperatively. Our success suggests that combined surgery may be an effective management for coexistence of Mooren’s ulcer and a pterygium if conservative treatments fail. A corneal lenticule obtained by SMILE can be used as the lamellar keratoplasty graft in such patients.