presumable corneal lymph cyst: a case report

purpose : to report a case of recurrent corneal intrastromal cyst containing lymph fluid case report : a 13-year-old girl presented with recurrent cyst of the left cornea, which had been drained three years before, but had gradually recurred. the cyst was successfully drained. histologic examination, cytologic analysis, and protein electrophoresis were performed on the cyst fluid. histopathologic examination of the cyst fluid revealed lipid-containing macrophages, white blood cells, and rare red blood cells. protein electrophoresis of the aspirate and blood serum showed a gamma globulin of 39% (higher than blood serum) and albumin of 52.5% (similar to blood serum) suggesting a lymph-containing corneal cyst. conclusion : corneal cysts are divided into different types: epithelial cysts which may be associated with surgery or trauma, cysts associated with an ectopic lacrimal gland or prolonged corneal edema. to our knowledge, this is the first report of a corneal cyst suspected to containing lymph fluid.   iranian journal of ophthalmology 200921(3):60-62 © 2009 by the iranian society of ophthalmology