Mooren''s ulcer following extracapsular cataract extraction.
OBJECTIVE
Prior cataract surgery is a recognized risk factor for the development of Mooren''s ulcer, but the demographic and clinical features of a large cohort of such patients have not been described.


METHODS
The authors performed a retrospective review of demographic and clinical data from 14 eyes in 13 patients who developed Mooren's ulcer following extracapsular cataract extraction at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, South India.


RESULTS
Eight (62%) of the 13 patients were men and 5 (39%) were women. The median age in our population was 65 years, with a range of 45 to 85 years. The median number of months from surgery to the onset of Mooren's ulcer was 19, with a range of 4 to 156 months. Of the 14 eyes with prior cataract surgery, the location of the ulcer was at or contiguous with the wound in 10 eyes (71%), which was 2.5 times more likely than other circumlimbal locations, and only one patient (8%) had bilateral disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Mooren''s ulcer may occur following extracapsular cataract extraction and when it does it is most likely to be unilateral and contiguous with the wound. These findings support the notion that exposure of normally concealed corneal antigens may contribute to the pathogenesis of Mooren''s ulcer in some patients.
Acharya
N R
NR
The Francis I. Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco - USA. nisha.acharya@ucsf.edu
Srinivasan
M
M
Kundu
A
A
Lietman
T M
TM
Whitcher
J P
JP
Cunningham
E T
ET
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001036:Aphakia, Postcataract / Q000209:etiology; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000601:surgery; D003320:Corneal Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019591:Pseudophakia / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D005938:Glucocorticoids