title: Aggressive small choroidal melanoma presenting as a dense cataract.
abstract: A 58-year-old woman with an aggressive, invasive, small post-equatorial choroidal melanoma presented with progressively blurred vision and a dense cataract in the affected eye. During phacoemulsification surgery, heavily pigmented retrolental vitreous was identified. Fine needle aspiration biopsy revealed heavily pigmented epithelioid cells without diagnostic features of malignancy. Small epithelioid-type choroidal melanoma (2.5 mm x 2.5 mm x 1.5 mm) was confirmed following enucleation. Diffuse preretinal space seeding, vitreous infiltration, forward spreading of tumor cells into the lens capsule and trabecular meshwork resulted in a complicated cataract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Su-Chin
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Chih-Hsun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Hsin-Chong
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: San-Ni
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D002386:Cataract / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009366:Neoplasm Seeding; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D014821:Vitrectomy