Conjunctival edema and alopecia of the external third of the eyebrows in apatient with Meige syndrome

Purpose: To describe a patient with Meige syndrome in whom we observed the coexistence of hereditary lymphedema of the lower legs, conjunctival edema and alopecia of the lateral third of the eyebrows. Methods: Case report. Re sults: Histological examination of the conjunctival and skin specimens show ed dermal edema and a slight reduction in the number of severely ectatic ly mphatics in the reticular dermis. The vessel were identified as lymphatics on the basis of immunohistochemical evidence of discontinuity and/or absenc e of basement membrane. Conclusions: Clinical and histological findings sug gest that the etiopathogenesis of the edema in Meige syndrome is related to a structural ectatic defect of lymphatics. This anomaly seems to involve b oth skin and other sites, such as conjunctival mucosa.