Iris nodules in von Recklinghausen's Neurofibromatosis. Electron microscopic confirmation of their melanocytic origin.

A 75-year-old man had generalized neurofibromatosis (NFT) with bilateral iris nodules and a mature cataract with elevated intraocular pressure in his left eye. At the time of intracapsular cataract extraction, a sector iridectomy was performed. Electron microscopic studies of the iris nodules within the iridectomy specimen unequivocally established that the spindle-shaped cells within the nodules were of melanocytic origin. We believe that the iris nodules in NFT represent melanocytic hamartomas.