Multidisciplinary management of neurotrophic and exposure keratopathy secondary to clivus chordoma resection: An ocular surface challenge

Abstract

The purpose is to report the ocular complications observed after compound cranial nerve palsies secondary to multiple clivus chordoma resection surgeries. A 38-year-old man was referred to our clinic with diplopia and foreign-body sensation. Examination revealed a right peripheral facial paralysis with paralytic lagophthalmos leading to exposure keratopathy and a right sixth nerve palsy with esotropia. Subsequently, the patient developed a longitudinal fusiform-shaped corneal epithelial defect in the right eye. The corneal sensation was reduced due to a fifth nerve palsy leading to neurotrophic keratopathy. The combination of neurotrophic with exposure keratopathy is one of the worst scenarios for corneal integrity.

Keywords

• clivus chordoma
• exposure keratopathy
• facial nerve palsy
• neurotrophic keratopathy
• trigeminal nerve section