Retained intraocular foreign body simulating choroidal melanoma. A report of two cases

Many different lesions can be difficult to distinguish from malignant melanomas of the choroid. With the use of modern diagnostic facilities the misdiagnosis rate has been greatly reduced. In a recent report from the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study Group the incidence of misdiagnosis was only 0.48%. The presence of a retained intraocular foreign body presenting as a raised pigmented choroidal mass similar to a uveal melanoma is rare. We report two cases in which retained intraocular foreign bodies presented clinically as raised pigmented intraocular lesions. Retained intraocular foreign bodies should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ocular tumours, especially if there are any atypical features.