Clinicopathologic finding inchoroidal melanoma after failedtranpupillary thermotherapy

Purpoe To review the clinicopathologic feature of eye enucleated after failed tranpupillary thermotherapy. Deign Retropective review. Method Pathology report in the L.F. Montgomery Laboratory between 1998 and 2002 were earched for enucleated eye with choroidal melanoma that had been treated only by tranpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) prior to enucleation. The clinical feature of the patient, including ultraonography examination, were reviewed and compared with the pathologic finding. Reult even eye from even patient had been enucleated, repreenting 8% of eye treated with TTT at our intitute during the period tudied. The primary indication for enucleation wa tumor growth. The melanoma tended to grow laterally, with minimal if any increae in thickne. Five of the even eye hitologically demontrated extracleral extenion, which wa detected by ultraonography prior to enucleation in only one of thoe eye. Concluion Choroidal melanoma may continue to grow along a path of leat reitance after TTT. The melanoma may extend laterally in the choroid and through emiary canal. Early extracleral extenion may be difficult to detect by ultraonography.