Malignant Melanoma Arising in Red Tattoo Ink
Cormac Weekes Joyce1, Gerald Duff2, Dermot McKenna3
1Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland. ; National University of Ireland, Gaillimh, Ireland.
Abstract:
We report the case of a 33-year-old male who presented with a malignant melanoma on his anterior chest wall. The lesion was only found in the red ink pigment of the tattoo, as were several in-transit dermal metastases. Possible explanations include a pre-existing lesion which was seeded with red ink or the possibility of the red ink causing an inflammatory reaction leading to malignant transformation. This is the first reported case of a melanoma developing in the red ink pigment of a multi-colored tattoo.
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