Abstract
Pellucid marginal corneal degeneration (PMCD) is a noninflammatory ectatic corneal disorder mostly involving the inferior half of the cornea in a crescentic fashion (Fig. 1). It is a bilateral disease, although one eye may be affected earlier and clinically diagnosed, while the other eye has no clinical features (1). Although classically described as an inferor entity, the site of involvement can be in any quadrant of the cornea, including the superior part, which is termed superior PMCD (2,3). The degeneration is distinguished from other ectatic corneal disorders by its characteristic location and the absence of inflammatory signs. Typically the thinning extends from the 4-o’clock position to the 8-o’clock position, 1 mm from the limbus with intact epithelium and normal corneal thickness superiorly. The area between the limbus and thinning is clear, without scarring, lipid deposition, or vascularization. Usually, present with reduced visual acuity owing to high irregular astigmatism in the fourth to fifth decades of life (4).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Krachmer JH. Pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol 1978;96:1217–1221.
Taglia DP, Sugar J. Superior pellucid marginal corneal degeneration with hydrops. Arch Ophthalmol 1997;115:274–275.
Rao SK, Fogla R, Padmanabhan P, et al. Corneal topography in atypical pellucid marginal degeneration. Cornea 1999;18:265–272.
Sridhar MS, Mahesh S, Bansal AK, Nutheti R, Rao GN. Pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. Ophthalmol 2004;111:1102–1107.
Maguire LJ, Klyce SD, McDonald MB, Kaufman HE. Corneal topography of pellucid marginal degeneration. Ophthalmol 1987;94:519–524.
Kayazawa F, Nishimura K, Kodama Y, et al. Keratoconus with pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. Arch Ophthalmol 1984;102:895–896.
Varley GA, Macsai MS, Krachmer JH. The results of penetrating keratoplasty for pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. Am J Ophthalmol 1990;110:149–152.
Kamiya K, Hirohara Y, Mihashi T, Hiraoka T, Kaji Y, Oshika T. Progression of pellucid marginal degeneration and higher-order wavefront aberration of the cornea. Japan J Ophthalmol 2003;47:523–525.
Fogla R, Rao SK, Padmanabhan P. Keratectasia in 2 cases with pellucid marginal corneal degeneration after laser in situ keratomileusis. J Cataract Refract Surg 2003;29:788–791.
Karabatsas CH, Cook SD. Topographic analysis in pellucid marginal corneal degeneration and keratoglobus. Eye 1996;10:451–455.
Cheng CL, Theng JT, Tan DT. Compressive C-shaped lamellar keratoplasty: a surgical alternative for the management of severe astigmatism from peripheral corneal degeneration. Ophthalmology 2005;112:425–430.
Javadi MA, Karimian F, Hosseinzadeh A, Noroozizadeh HM, Sa’eedifar MR, Rabie HM. Lamellar crescentic resection for pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. J Refract Surg 2004;20:162–165.
Fleming JR, Reynolds AI, Kilmer L. The intrastromal corneal ring-two cases in rabbits. J Refractive Surg 1987;3:227–232.
Burris TE, Baker PC, Ayer et al. Flattening of the curvature with intrastromal corneal rings of increasing thickness-an eye bank eye study. J Refractive Surg 1993;19:182–187.
Nosé W, Neves RA, Schanzlin DJ, et al. Intrastromal corneal ring-one year results of first implant in humans: a preliminary non-functional eye study. Refract Corneal Surg 1993;9:452–458.
Nosé W, Neves RA, Burris TE, et al. Intrastromal corneal ring-12months sighted myopic eyes. J Refract Surg 1996;12:20–28.
Patel S, Marshall J, Fitzke FW. Model for deriving the optical performance of the myopic eye corrected with an intracorneal ring. J Refract Surg 1995;11:248–252.
Pinsky PM, Datye DV, Silvestrini TA. Numerical simulation of topographical alterations in the cornea after intrastromal corneal ring (ICR) placement. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 1995;36 suppl:308.
Alió JL, Shabayek MH, Belda JI, Correas P, Feijoo ED. Analysis of results related to good and bad outcome of INTACS implantation for correction of Keratoconus. J Cataract Refract Surg 2006;32:756–761.
Alió AJ, Artola A, Hassanein A, Haroun H, Galal A. One or two INTACS segments for the correction of keratoconus. J Cataract Refract Surg 2005;31:943–953.
Rodriguez-Prats J, Galal A, Garcia-Lledo M, De La Hoz F, Alió JL. Intracorneal rings for the correction of pellucid marginal degeneration. J Cataract Refract Surg 2003;29:1421–1424.
Kymionis GD, Aslanides IM, Siganos CS, Pallikaris IG. INTACS for early pellucid marginal degeneration. J Cataract Refract Surg 2004;30:230–233.
Akaishi L, Tzelikis PF, Raber IM. Ferrara intracorneal ring implantation and cataract surgery for the correction of pellucid marginal corneal degeneration. J Cataract Refract Surg 2004;30:2427–2430.
Shehadeh-Masha’our R, Modi N, Barbra A Grazozi HJ. Keratitis after implantation of intrastromal ring segments. J cataract Refract Surg 2004;30:1802–1804.
Hofling-Lima AL, Branco BC, Romano AC, et al. Corneal infections after implantation of intracorneal ring segments. Cornea 2004;23:547–549.
Bourcier T, Borderie V, Laroche L. Late bacterial keratitis after implantation of intrastromal corneal ring segments. J Cataract Refract Surg 2003;29:407–409.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Humana Press Inc., Totowa NJ
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alió, J.L., Shabayek, M.H., Artola, A., El Saftawy, H. (2007). Pellucid Marginal Corneal Degeneration. In: Tombran-Tink, J., Barnstable, C.J., Rizzo, J.F. (eds) Visual Prosthesis and Ophthalmic Devices. Ophthalmology Research. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-449-0_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-449-0_14
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-934115-16-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-449-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)