Ligneous conjunctivitis: an autosomal recessive disorder.

Two siblings, a boy and a girl, developed a chronic, bilateral conjunctivitis with large recurrent pseudomembranes. The diagnosis of ligneous conjunctivitis was made by excisional biopsies in both. The family was referred for genetic counseling after the second child developed the disorder. On the basis of this family and previous reports, we believe that ligneous conjunctivitis is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern and that genetic counseling should be offered to the parents of affected children.