Histopatologic finding in the cornea of patient 30 years after exposure to Sulphur mustard gas

Purpose: Delayed mustard gas keratopathy is the main chronic outcome in the eye of patient who exposed to Sulphur mustard(SM).The aim of this study was histopathological evaluation of mustard exposed cornea after more than 30 years.Methods: 10 corneas after Lamellar keratoplasty was evaluated in this study. After 4 μm tissue sectioning, cornea was stained by H&E method. Results: The main histopathological findings in these cases were presence of severe stromal edema and corneal scar. In the sections with visible superficial epithelium ,Subepithelial bullae formation ( Bullous keratopathy ) was seen. Focal or diffuse disruption of Bowman membrane and replacement with fibrosis were also seen .There was no evidence of stromal vascularization and inflammation in all specimens. Conclusion: scar tissue without vascularization and fibroblastic proliferation is the main finding in SM exposed cornea. This pathology results is different from other scars.