Post-corneal transplant tumors of nondonor origin in the anterior chamber of the eye: a case report

PURPOSE: To investigate whether post-corneal transplant tumors are of donor origin, we studied the case of a 29-year-old female corneal transplant recipient who developed tumors in the anterior chamber on the iris of her right eye 7 years after transplantation. METHODS: Because the corneal graft donor was a 53-year-old man whose cause of death was reported as heart failure but who had uremia secondary to a metastatic Grawitz's tumor, transmission of his malignancy had to be excluded. One of the patient's iris tumors was removed through an incision in the cornea for examination to establish the diagnosis. RESULTS: The histological examination of the iris mass showed the typical picture of a noncaseous epithelioid cell granuloma compatible with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The observed post-corneal transplant tumor was clearly not of donor origin. Nevertheless, when tumor growth is observed in an eye after corneal transplantation, transmission of a malignancy has to be excluded. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of sarcoidosis with iris nodules after corneal transplantation. CONCLUSION: Our case report illustrates the importance of keeping reliable medical histories of graft donors and of their use in establishing whether post-transplant tumors are of donor origin. The long-term storage of donor medical records should be recommended because of the importance of being able to access that information even years after transplantation.