A Case History of Internal Ophthalmomyiasis, a Rare and Devastating Disease

Abstract

To report a rare case of unilateral internal ophthalmomyiasis with complete visual loss. Method: An otherwise healthy 12 years old boy presented with redness and painful rapid loss of vision in his right eye for the past 12 days. There was no history of associated trauma. On examination, there was no perception of light in his right eye and normal vision in left eye. There was severe anterior and posterior segment inflammation which prevented the view of fundus. B-scan of the right eye showed diffuse choroidal and optic nerve thickening. Routine blood count and X-ray chest did not reveal any significant findings. In the midst of uncertainity regarding diagnosis and to relieve the patient from severe pain, enucleation of right eye was performed and histopathological examination of the specimen was done to confirm the diagnosis. Result: Histopathology report showed gross irregular inflammatory thickening of the choroid with severe granulomatous inflammation. There was an infective agent in the choroid having an outer cuticle and an irregular hyaline branching innner tube. These features were suggestive of ophthalmomyiasis of the choroid. Conclusion: Although rare, ophthalmomyiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of panuveitis. Early recognition of this condition, when tumour and other conditions are suspected, would avoid invasive surgical procedures, such as enucleation.