Ciliary body involvement in ocular melanocytosis

Purpose: To image the ciliary body architecture in patients with melanosis oculi. Methods: Ultrasound biomicroscopy was performed to obtain cross sectional images of the anterior segment of both eyes in patients with unilateral ocular melanocytosis. All images were exported to an IBM-compatible PC in PCM format and the NIH program was used to calculate the area of the ciliary body. Results: Four patients with ocular melanocytosis were examined. One had a history of ocular hypertension, one had advanced open-angle glaucoma and had undergone trabeculectomy, and the other two were normotensive. The ciliary body cross sectional area was greater in the eye with melanocytosis in all patients as compared with the non-affected contralateral eye. Conclusions: Enlargement of the ciliary body appears to be an integral finding in ocular melanocytosis and should be differentiated from the occurrence of malignant transformation.