A rare case of eyelid sarcoidosis presenting as an orbital mass

Abstract

Intraorbital sarcoidosis presenting externally as a solitary eyelid mass has been described in the literature as isolated case reports. We describe a rare case of asymptomatic sarcoidosis with orbital mass as the presenting feature in a young woman. The lesion was excised with the clinical possibility of a thrombosed varix. On histology, the lesion was characterized by numerous nonnecrotizing epithelioid cell granulomas with several multinucleated giant cells containing abundant asteroid bodies and oxalate crystals. No tubercular bacilli were detected. A diagnosis of sarcoidosis was rendered and on further clinical work-up, she was detected to have hilar lymphadenopathy. Sarcoidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of orbital mass as it could be the initial manifestation of the disease process.