Choroidal and optic disk metastases of a laryngeal carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose: To report a case of laryngeal squamous carcinoma metastatic to the eye affecting the choroid and optic nerve.

Methods: A 58-year-old man complained of sudden decrease of visual acuity in his left eye on admission to the emergency room. One year previously, he had undergone a surgical removal of laryngeal carcinoma. Funduscopic examination detected a choroidal mass in the macular area.

Results: After 10 days, the patient complained of pain and a diminished visual acuity and presented an exudative retinal detachment and optic nerve infiltration.

Conclusion: Metastatic tumors are the most common intraocular malignancies, and the choroid is by far the most frequent location for the intraocular metastases. Metastases from a laryngeal carcinoma are quite unusual. Lesions affecting both choroid and optic nerve are extremely rare.