Long-Term Follow-Up of 4 Patients with Conjunctival Amyloidosis

Abstract

Conjunctival amyloidosis is a rare cause of ocular inflammation, mass, and hemorrhage that can be difficult to diagnose and treat. In this case series, we describe 4 patients with a histopathological diagnosis of conjunctival amyloidosis treated at a single institution. All patients underwent surgical excision and biopsy. On histopathological examination, 3 patients had local deposition of either kappa or lambda monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains, favoring localized amyloid light-chain amyloidosis. Systemic workup to exclude rheumatologic disorders (e.g., anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and rheumatoid factors) and hematological disorders (e.g., imaging, biopsies, and serum protein electrophoresis/urine protein electrophoresis) was negative except for a positive abdominal fat biopsy in 1 patient. Patients were followed for an average of 6.1 years (range 4 months to 15 years) with stable ocular disease.