title: [The different opacity patterns of Lisch corneal dystrophy].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lisch corneal dystrophy is an epithelial corneal dystrophy where diffuse gray corneal opacifications are seen in direct illumination that appear in different patterns. Examination in retroillumination shows that these gray changes do consist of multiple densely crowded clear microcysts according to the opacity units. We wanted to investigate if one single case of Lisch corneal dystrophy can be differentiated easily from the other epithelial corneal dystrophies by exact analysis of the opacity units.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined three non-related patients with Lisch corneal dystrophy at the slit-lamp. The epithelial corneal opacities were documented photographically with direct slit-lamp illumination and retroillumination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three patients showed the characteristic intraepithelial densely crowded clear microcysts in retroillumination. Diffuse gray radial opacities were noted in both corneas of a 15-year-old female patient. A club-shaped opacity was noted in one cornea of a 35-year-old female patient and a feathery gray opacity pattern was found in one cornea of a 49-year-old male patient. All three patients showed the characteristic densely crowded clear microcysts of Lisch corneal dystrophy in retroillumination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taking the previous literature into account, five different opacity patterns can be summarised: radial, band, flame/feathery, whorled and club-shaped gray epithelial corneal opacities. A single case of Lisch corneal dystrophy can be differentiated from other epithelial corneal dystrophies by means of an exact analysis of the opacity pattern and units by slit-lamp examination.
authors.affiliation: Universitäts-Augenklinik Ulm, Ulm. susanne@butros.de
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Butros
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alvarez de Toledo
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Teimann
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rohrbach
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lisch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003317:Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009887:Ophthalmoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*