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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2015; 42(04): 475-477
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2015.42.4.475
Case Report

Malignant Melanoma Arising in Red Tattoo Ink

Cormac Weekes Joyce
Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
National University of Ireland, Gaillimh, Ireland
,
Gerald Duff
Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
,
Dermot McKenna
Department of Dermatology, Sligo Regional Hospital, Sligo, Ireland
,
Padraic James Regan
Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland
National University of Ireland, Gaillimh, Ireland
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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.

Keywords

Melanoma - Skin - Cutaneous


Publication History

Received: 07 February 2015

Accepted: 23 April 2015

Article published online:
05 May 2022

© 2015. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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