Melanocytoma of the ciliary body diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy

A 55-yr-old African American man was referred for evaluation of a mass involving the anterior choroid/ciliary body in his left eye. Dilated fundus examination revealed a large, deeply pigmented mass associated with an exudative retinal detachment. Ultrasonography demonstrated an elevated mass which involved the anterior uvea and showed low reflectivity by standardized A-scan. Cytologic examination of fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy from the tumor was interpreted as a melanocytoma. The patient developed a total retinal detachment and secondary glaucoma which led to enucleation of the eye. Histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of melanocytoma. To our knowledge, this is the first report in which the diagnosis of uveal melanocytoma was established by FNA biopsy and later confirmed histopathologically.