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Book

Pellucid Marginal Corneal Degeneration

Jigyasa Sahu  1 , Kshitij Raizada  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Pellucid Marginal Corneal Degeneration

Jigyasa Sahu et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Pellucid marginal corneal degeneration (PMCD) is a bilateral, noninflammatory, peripheral corneal thinning disease. It is characterized by a peripheral crescentic band of thinning, usually in the inferior cornea. The ectatic zone, which is 1-2 mm from the limbus, lies above the point of the maximum corneal thinning. The term pellucid marginal degeneration was coined first by Schalaeppi in 1957 as "la dystrophie marginale inferieure pellucide de la cornee". "Pellucid," meaning clear, signifies the clarity of the cornea despite the presence of ectasia.

The condition is more common in males in their 2nd to 5th decades of life. It is very important to rule out any thinning and ectatic disorders like keratoconus and PMCD before refractive surgery as upon being missed, they can lead to unwanted complications post-operatively.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Jigyasa Sahu declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Kshitij Raizada declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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    1. 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 Jul;29(7):1421-4. - PubMed
    1. Taylor CT. Interdependent roles for hypoxia inducible factor and nuclear factor-kappaB in hypoxic inflammation. J Physiol. 2008 Sep 01;586(17):4055-9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kompella VB, Aasuri MK, Rao GN. Management of pellucid marginal corneal degeneration with rigid gas permeable contact lenses. CLAO J. 2002 Jul;28(3):140-5. - PubMed
    1. Horodeński J. [Pellucid marginal corneal degeneration (author's transl)]. Klin Oczna. 1978 Apr;48(4):167-8. - PubMed

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