Mycobacterium abscessus infection following home dermabrasion

With an ever-increasing prevalence of cosmetic treatments, there also have been increasing rates of skin and soft tissue infections due to cosmetic procedures and other popular procedures such as acupuncture. We report a case of a 32-year-old woman who presented with a tender lump on the face of 6 weeks' duration that developed acutely after using an at-home microdermabrasion device. She was eventually diagnosed with a skin infection due to Mycobacterium abscessus, which is part of a more specific group known as rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria. Due to multidrug resistance, treatment of the solitary lesion required combination intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy for more than 2 months. This report considers the significance of these infections within the context of cosmetic procedures that are generally considered to be minimally invasive.