SARCOIDOSIS WITH ORBITAL TUMOR OUTSIDE THE LACRIMAL GLAND - INITIAL MANIFESTATION IN 2 ELDERLY WHITE WOMEN

Two elderly white women (aged 72 and 87 years) were first seen with pa inless, unilateral orbital swelling, Orbital scanning revealed masses infiltrating the soft tissue around the eye. Biopsy results showed nod ular, noncaseating granulomas consistent with sarcoidosis. One patient 's workup revealed systemic manifestations of sarcoidosis at the time of examination with hilar lymphadenopathy noted on gallium scan; the o ther refused a complete systemic workup. The orbital tumors resolved w ith systemic prednisone therapy. To our knowledge, our 87-year-old pat ient is the oldest to be seen with orbital sarcoidosis. These 2 patien ts demonstrate that this diagnosis must be considered with orbital tum ors in the elderly and in unusual locations, such as these which occur red outside the lacrimal gland.