Long-term Follow-up After Lamellar Keratoplasty in a Patient With Bilateral Idiopathic Corneal Keloid

Purpose: To report a case of bilateral idiopathic corneal keloid. Methods: Retrospective review of clinical features, histopathological findings, clinical management, and outcome. Results: A 2-year-old boy with bilateral corneal keloid was treated with lamellar keratoplasty and tranilast eye drops. Peripheral localized white corneal nodules had been present bilaterally since the age of approximately 6 months in the absence of any history of trauma, inflammatory disease, or relevant family history. Pathological examination of the excised corneal buttons revealed myofibroblast proliferation (positive staining for a-smooth muscle actins), a haphazard arrangement of collagen bundles, and the absence of inflammatory cells. On the basis of these findings, a diagnosis of corneal keloid was assigned. The size of the corneal lesion in the right eye decreased in response to therapy with tranilast eye drops. Lamellar keratoplasty resulted in improved bilateral visual acuity, which was maintained at the 12-year follow-up. Conclusions: This report describes a very rare case of bilateral corneal keloid in the absence of trauma or inflammation that was diagnosed by histological and immunohistochemical examination and electron microscopy. Good visual acuity was maintained over an extended period of postsurgery follow-up. Tranilast may represent a novel adjuvant therapy for corneal keloid.