title: Pyogenic granuloma of the cornea: report of a case and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pyogenic granulomas are ulcerated vascular proliferations, often accompanied by inflammatory infiltrates, which rarely affect the eye. Only few reports on pyogenic granulomas of the cornea have been presented.
  
  
  METHODS
  The enucleated globe containing the corneal tumor was examined histopathologically, and special immunohistochemical stains were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The lesion had a yellowish appearance with marked vascularization. The inflammatory infiltrate was mainly composed of mononuclear cells, with no multinucleated giant cells, and was located anterior to Bowman's layer, leaving the corneal stroma unaffected. Immunohistochemical studies outlined the high vascular content, even in dense cellular areas, and confirmed the inflammatory nature of the mononuclear infiltrates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pyogenic granuloma of the cornea represents a clinical and morphological entity developing in a traumatized eye with corneal vascularization. Although the origin of these lesions remains obscure, there have been no signs of malignancy. Therefore, enucleation of an eye with a pyogenic granuloma should be avoided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mietz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kirchhof
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Krieglstein
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003315:Cornea / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D005260:Female; D017789:Granuloma, Pyogenic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins