A Case of Terrien's Marginal Degeneration of the Cornea

ABSTRACT

Terrien's marginal degeneration was defined by Terrien in 1900 as a rare bilateral condition involving a peripheral cornea with degeneration and ectasia. About 75 percent of the reported cases has been in male between the age of 10 and 70. The majority of cases are first diagnosed before age 40. The condition usually arises in the superior portion of the cornea as a peripheral corneal opacity with gradual development of a peripheral furrow and progresses in a circumferential fashion. During evolution of the disease, the eye usually remains quiet and asymptomatic except for visual problems due to astigmatism. A 54 year-old Korean male has been found to have bilateral Terrien's marginal degeneration of the cornea and perforation on the right eye following trauma has been developed.