Silicone oil continues to be an important aid in retinal detachment surgery. We report a case in which disparate responses to silicone oil were noted in the conjunctiva and intraocularly. Intraocularly, the oil permeated a fibrous membrane that formed behind a keratoprosthesis, the first example of this phenomenon. We detail the histological response to the oil at this site as well as a distinctly different reaction present to oil in the conjunctiva of the same eye. The divergence of histological responses provides a demonstration of the eye's apparent retained capacity to protect against intraocular inflammation, despite multiple previous surgeries.
Keywords: Conjunctiva; Granulomatous reaction; Retrokeratoprosthetic membrane; Silicone oil.