PLEOMORPHIC FIBROMA OF THE EYELID

Background: This report describes the pathology of an unusual variant of fibroma of the eyelid. The soft ovoid tumour was excised from the c entre of the left lower lid in an 84-year-old patient had been growing slowly for several years. Methods: The tumour was studied by conventi onal histology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Results: The tumour was formed by fibroblasts of spindle and multinucleate typ e, and the collagenous stroma contained mast cells and blood vessels w hich exhibited minor inflammatory changes. With the immunohistochemica l methods the only positive marker was for vimentin. Conclusion: On mo rphological grounds it was possible to distinguish this extremely rare tumour from other mesenchymal rumours. The presence of distinctive mu ltinucleate giant cells makes the term pleomorphic fibroma an appropri ate name for this type of lesion.