Fluorescein angiographic behaviour of iris masses.

28 cysts and tumours involving the iris are studied by means of fluorescein angiography of the anterior segment. Iris cysts usually showed abnormally dilated and tortuous feeding vessels, but only exceptionally did they leak fluorescein. Inflammatory masses presented massive dye leakage from both tumour-involved and distant iris vessels. Benign stromal masses showed normal angiograms or dye leakage limited to the tumour site. Benign pigmented lesions were angiographically always silent, whereas malignant melanomata showed moderate to heavy leakage from the tumour. This leakage occasionally extended to apparently uninvolved iris areas, specially to the pupillary margin. Exceptionally, a malignant melanoma of the iris was angiographically silent. It is concluded that iris angiography is a useful but not error-free method for the evaluation of iris masses.