Amniotic Membrane Granuloma in a Case of Ocular Chemical Injury: Clinical Features, Histopathology, and Outcomes

This report describes the clinical features of a granuloma within the layers of amniotic membranes (AM) along with its surgical management and outcome. An eight-year-old boy underwent an AM graft in the right eye for an acute chemical injury. As there was slow healing of the ocular surface, the eye was subjected to a simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET). Although the corneal surface was well epithelialized, a superior symblepharon was noted six weeks following SLET. Excision of the fibrotic tissue with an AM graft was carried out. Growth of a grayish-white fibrotic lesion in the visual axis of the cornea was noted eight months after the second AM graft. The optical coherence tomography line scan revealed the location of the lesion to be anterior to the retained SLET AM. This lesion progressively increased in size, so an excision biopsy was carried out. The lesion excised in toto with the AM, and an optically clear plane was noted. Histopathology of the tissue revealed the presence of myofibroblasts, which possibly originated from the AM fibroblasts. At the three-year follow-up period, there was no recurrence of the growth, and the final visual acuity was 20/40. This is a rare report of a granuloma case arising within the layers of an AM. The underlying etiopathogenesis could be due to the multiple AM grafts that the patient underwent. These repeated grafts can incite an immune response and lead to the formation of a granuloma. The special staining and the restoration of the corneal clarity with a stable ocular surface suggest the AM origin of the mass lesion. Removal of the layer of the AM with the granuloma has good outcomes, with no recurrence on long-term follow-up.