Isolated ocular lichen planus in a child

Abstract

Lichen planus (LP) is an autoimmune inflammatory condition of the skin and mucous membranes, of unknown aetiology, that infrequently involves the eye. Ocular LP has not been described in children. We present the case of an 8-year-old girl with severe, filamentous dry eyes and persistent conjunctival hyperemia with bilateral progressive conjunctival symblepharon. Her conjunctival biopsy showed heavy linear fibrinogen deposits along the basement membrane without IgG, IgA, IgM, or C3 deposition, consistent with LP. No skin or other mucosal lesions were present, suggesting a diagnosis of isolated conjunctival LP. Oral and topical cyclosporine combined with methotrexate and low-dose oral steroids led to sustained disease remission. To our knowledge, this is the first case of isolated ocular LP in a child.