[Study on choroidal melanoma at the Ophthalmology Unit of the Regional Hospital of São José--Santa Catarina].
To describe the characteristics of patients choroidal melanoma diagnosed and treated at the Ophthalmology Unit of the Regional Hospital of São José - Santa Catarina, and to show the results. Analysis of 24 medical records of patients with a diagnosis of malignant choroidal melanoma from, March 1st 1997 to July 21st 2003, regarding: age, gender, race, symptoms and duration, diagnostic methods, performed treatment, size and type of tumor. There was no difference regarding gender, and the average age of patients was about 57.2 +/- 16.56 years. The tumor predominated in white people (83.33%) and low visual acuity was the most frequent symptom (83.33%). The average time from the beginning of symptomalogy up to the initial treatment was 152.12+/-114.00 days. Indirect ophtalmoscopy and ultrasound were performed in all the patients in order to diagnose the tumor. All patients underwent enucleation, because they showed large tumors (greatest basal diameter higher than 16 mm at to USG). The most frequent type was that of fusiform cells (58.5%) and the average size of the tumors was 11.8+/-4.5 mm basal diameter. Two patients presented systemic metastasis. All patients were diagnosed when the tumor was already advanced, making the visual and systemic prognostic worse and reducing the therapeutic options, and therefore were enucleated.