Progression of keratoconus secondary to thyroid eye disease: a case report

Abstract

Keratoconus is a progressive condition marked by corneal thinning, caused by alterations of the structure and organization of corneal collagen. It is often diagnosed during the teen years, when collagen remodeling occurs at an increased rate. In contrast, Graves’ disease most commonly presents during adulthood. When it does manifest in pediatric cases, patients typically exhibit mild eyelid retraction and proptosis without vision loss. We present the case of a 16-year-old boy with vision loss due to progressive keratoconus changes secondary to Graves’ ophthalmopathy. To our knowledge, concurrent keratoconus and thyroid eye disease (TED) in a child has not been reported in the literature. Nor are there reports of rapid development of keratoconus following proptosis from TED.