Trans-Scleral Cyclophotocoagulation in Refractory Pigment Dispersion-Like Glaucoma Secondary to Ciliary Body Melanoma

PURPOSE: To report a case of ciliary body melanoma with acute high intraocular pressure (IOP) due to pigment dispersion, treated by limited trans-scleral cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC) and plaque radiotherapy. METHODS: A 33-year-old woman was referred to clinic with acute ocular pain and decreased visual acuity from 1 week before presentation. The IOP was 55 mmHg accompanied by red eye, perilimbal injection, mild corneal edema (stromal and epithelial), scattered pigment dust on central corneal endothelium, 4(+) anterior chamber pigments, and pigmented cells. Gonioscopy revealed a bulging mass posterior to the iris root, about 2 o'clock width alongside a heavy dark brown pigmentation of all angle structures. Ultrasound biomicroscopy confirmed a ciliary body mass of about 4.5 mm × 4 mm × 3.3 mm in the superior ciliary region, in favor of melanoma. Due to no response to maximal antiglaucoma therapy, a limited TSCPC in the inferior hemisclera was done. After control of the IOP, plaque radiotherapy with Ru-106 was done. RESULTS: Three days after the cyclophotocoagulation, IOP decreased to 18 mmHg. Visual acuity reached to 20/25 and IOP remained 18 mmHg, with timolol/dorzolamide drop twice a day. Anterior chamber pigments gradually decreased, and antiglaucoma and steroid drops were tapered during 1 month, thereafter. The IOP was 14–16 mmHg with timolol/dorzolamide bid at months 3 and 6 of follow-up and 21–22 mmHg without any drop at months 12 and 18, with no sign of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. CONCLUSION: Limited cyclophotocoagulation may be a good choice for controlling the high refractory IOP in cases of intraocular neoplasms such as ciliary body melanoma, which are planned for salvage therapy such as plaque radiotherapy.