Dendritic Corneal Naevus: A Spillover Of Nevus Of Ota?

To report a rare case of corneal naevus in a child with naevus of ota

A naevus comprises of clumps of melanocytes that produces melanin. Most commonly they can be seen in the sclera, iris or choroid, cornea being a rare location. Though compound corneal naevus and a primary corneal naevi have been documented in literature before, we report such a case of corneal naevus in naevus of ota.

Case report with clinicopathologic correlation

A 6-year-old girl child with naevus of Ota but normal vision and intraocular pressure was referred to the glaucoma clinic for screening. Apart from congenital unilateral slate grey hyperpigmentation of eyelids, cheek, sclera (Fig A) and hyperpigmented angle, the child had well-demarcated, brown, dendritic carpet localized within the inferior posterior corneal stroma, sparing pupillary area. The lesion and its exact anatomical location was confirmed on the anterior segment OCT (Fig D). The child also had a macular patchy brown skin naevus near the umbilicus.

Nevus of Ota, predisposed in females, is a benign melanocytosis usually involving the ophthalmic (V1) and maxillary (V2) trigeminal distribution areas. Though corneal involvement is rare, the common origin of melanocytes and corneal stroma from neural crest cells explain its possible occurrence. Follow up due to the risk of melanoma and glaucoma was explained to the patient.