Anterior segment optical coherence tomography features of pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia of the ocular surface: a study of 9 lesions

Purpose: To describe anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) features of pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia (PEH) of the ocular surface.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of 9 lesions of 8 patients with histopathologically proven PEH RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis of PEH was 31 years (median 31 years; range 12 to 62 years). The lesion was unilateral in 7 (88%) patients and bilateral in one (12%). Two patients (25%) had xeroderma pigmentosum, who also had a history of prior surgical intervention in the same eye for conjunctival tumor excision. Referral diagnosis was ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in all cases. Ocular surface mass (n = 4, 44%) was the most common presenting complaint. The mean duration of symptoms was 18 months (median 3 months; range < 1 to 84 months). All lesions were perilimbal, and the mean basal diameter of the tumor was 7 mm (median 6 mm; range 4 to 12 mm). Clinical diagnosis included OSSN (n = 5; 56%), PEH (n = 3; 33%), or leiomyosarcoma (n = 1; 11%). AS-OCT features included irregular hyperreflective epithelium, epithelial dipping, and subepithelial hyperreflective lesion with posterior shadowing in all cases. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of PEH in all cases. The underlying cause of PEH in these cases included vernal keratoconjunctivitis (n = 4; 44%), idiopathic severe blepharitis (n = 2; 22%), or prior surgical intervention (n = 2; 22%). No apparent cause could be determined in one eye (11%).

Conclusion: Ocular surface PEH is a close mimicker of OSSN. Careful history-taking, clinical examination, and characteristic AS-OCT features aid in accurate diagnosis.