A Case Report and an Overview of the Differential Diagnosis of Pigmented Lesions of the Conjunctiva: Just a Freckle or Something to Heckle?

Autores da FMUP

• João Filipe Barbosa Breda

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Ribeiro, Margarida
• Marques-Couto, Pedro
• Gama-Castro, Ana
• Dinah-Braganca, Teresa

Unidades de investigação

• Cirurgia e Fisiologia

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

A 42-year-old darkly pigmented woman presented at our emergency department with complaints of pruritus, foreign body sensation, and blurry vision. Besides findings compatible with mild dry eye disease, anterior segment examination revealed dark pigmented, ill-defined areas of the conjunctiva surrounding the temporal limbus and temporal bulbar conjunctiva in the left eye and involving the superior and inferior tarsal conjunctiva in both eyes. The patient reported no recent changes in these lesions. A diagnosis of complexion-associated melanosis in the palpebral conjunctiva of both eyes and primary acquired melanosis in the bulbar conjunctiva of the left eye was assumed, and the patient was placed under regular follow-up. Preservative-free tears were also recommended for her dry eye condition. Conjunctival pigmented lesions are a common finding during ophthalmologic evaluations. They pose a significant diagnostic challenge due to the wide array of differential diagnoses and the concern of misdiagnosing melanoma. A comprehensive clinical history and multidisciplinary evaluation are crucial in managing these cases.

Keywords

• ophthalmology; eye; primary acquired melanosis; complexion-associated melanosis; conjunctival melanoma; nevus