Nodular cutaneous amyloid tumors of the eyelids in the absence of systemic amyloidosis.

A patient was referred with recurrent bilateral, slow-growing, painless, nodular tumors of the upper eyelid margins. The tumors were excised and the base of each lesion was ablated with the CO 2 laser. Histological examination of the excised tissue revealed amyloid. Despite the fact that cutaneous, amyloid lesions of the eyelid have been previously described as essentially pathognomonic for systemic amyloid disease, no evidence of systemic amyloidosis was found in this patient. We believe that this represents only the second reported case of bilateral cutaneous amyloid of the eyelids without systemic involvement. We agree with previous authors that this lesion be added to the list of painless slow-growing bilateral eyelid tumors.