title: Spontaneous corneal perforation in a patient with unusual unilateral pellucid marginal degeneration.
abstract: A 56-year-old man presented with acute loss of vision and tearing in his left eye. Slitlamp examination demonstrated peripheral corneal edema extending between the 2 and 6 o'clock positions as well as a perforation located inferiorly. The right eye was unremarkable. An emergent crescentic lamellar keratoplasty was performed. The patch graft remained clear during the 30-month follow-up, and visual acuity improved significantly. No changes occurred in the right eye. This case represents an unusual, unilateral corneal ectatic disorder, most likely pellucid marginal degeneration.
authors.affiliation: Cornea and External Disease Service, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, Maryland21287-9238, USA. esakpek@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Akpek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Altan-Yaycioglu
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gottsch
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Stark
mesh_terms: D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D019781:Corneal Topography; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D014792:Visual Acuity