Thirty-year History of Sympathetic Ophthalmia

A spontaneous corneal perforation followed by granulomatous uveitis occurred in a 10-month-old female infant with bilateral anterior segment anomalies. The histopathologic findings in the enucleated right eye and the 30-year course of intraocular inflammation in her left eye are consistent with sympathetic ophthalmia. This case illustrates that sympathetic ophthalmia can be overlooked for years unless the diagnosis is considered and periodic anterior segment biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy are performed in patients who have had perforating ocular injuries. A lensectomy-vitrectomy procedure was successful in restoring ambulatory vision in this patient.