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Skin tattoos and the development of uveitis
Author(s) -
VAN CALSTER J,
VANDER HULST K,
GOOSSENS A,
VAN DEN OORD J,
JACOB J,
VAN GINDERDEUREN R
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2011.4344.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sarcoidosis , uveitis , dermatology , photophobia , rash , granuloma , histiocyte , intermediate uveitis , anterior uveitis , surgery , pathology , ophthalmology
Purpose To report a case of recurrent non‐granulomatous anterior uveitis associated with tattoo inflammation. Methods A 28‐year‐old female presented to our ophthalmology department with a sharp shooting pain, photophobia and redness in both eyes but more pronounced in the right eye. A bilateral anterior uveitis was noticed. Simultaneously she experienced a rash at the site of her skin tattoos. The patient had her skin tattooed quite extensively at the chest, the back and around the umbilicus, between 13 years and one year ago. Results Investigations for causes of anterior uveitis, including general and infectious serologic testing, ACE, HLA‐B27 and chest X‐ray were normal. Clinical pneumological examination, thoracic CT and abdominal ultrasound showed no arguments for sarcoidosis. A tattoo biopsy showed a granulomatous response of lymphocytes and histiocytes around tattoo pigment, there was no histological evidence for sarcoidosis. Conclusion Tattoo granulomas can be a manifestation of sarcoidosis but may also be a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to pigment containing metallic tattoo compounds. The association of recurrent anterior uveitis with swelling of skin tattoos is an unusual occurrence. Similar cases of uveitis associated with tattoo inflammation have been reported in the literature.