Dear Editors, Tattoing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures, and has become increasingly popular in Western countries since the 1970s, with a parallel increase in adverse reactions. It is well established that tattooes may be associated not only with different skin diseases, like transient acute inflammatory reactions at the site of needling, but also with serious medical complicat...

MADAM, Amalgam tattoo is the most common exogenous pigmentation of the oral mucosa; surprisingly, there are no reports of similar lesions on the skin. It is caused by traumatic implantation of amalgam fragments into the oral mucosa following dental treatment, particularly when amalgam fillings are removed with high-speed instruments. Amalgam tattoo occurs mostly in the gingiva and alveolar muco...

Nowadays, about 12% of the European and 20% of the US population are tattooed. Rising concerns regarding consumer safety, led to legal restrictions on tattoo inks and permanent make-up (PMU) inks. Restrictions also include bans on certain hazardous colourants. Both ink types use organic pigments for colour-giving, plus inorganic pigments for white and black and colour tones. Pigments are only s...

OBJECTIVE To compare the results of a 1996 study of tattoo possession and motivation for tattoo removal with those of a 2006 study, in light of today's current strong mainstream tattoo procurement and societal support within the young adult population. DESIGN Descriptive, exploratory study. SETTING Four dermatology clinics in Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Texas. PARTICIPANTS The 2...

A 32 year-old healthy woman presented with a 4 month history of pruritus and nodules in a 2-year-old professionally placed tattoo in the lower limb. On examination of the lower right leg she had nodules limited to the red areas of the tattoo, and not in the other colors (Figure 1). Epicutaneous patch testing revealed a positive reaction to nickel, which was considered as non-causative, because ...

Hypersensitivity to para-phenylenediamine (PPD) and related compounds induced by temporary black henna tattoos has become a serious health problem worldwide. Different patterns of sensitization with various clinical aspects are described in literature due to PPD associated to henna tattoo and these manifestations are likely correlated with the immunological and dermatological pathomechanisms in...

Background and Aims Balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) is a well-established tool in the diagnosis and therapy of small bowel diseases. Ink tattooing of the small bowel is used to mark pathologic lesions or the depth of small bowel insertion. The purpose of this study was to determine the safety, the detection rate, and the clinical relevance of ink tattooing during BAE. Methods We performed ...

A blue tattoo is more resistant to laser therapy than black or brown tattoos. This study aimed to confirm titanium as a key response-disturbing constituent in a blue tattoo ink after Nd-YAG (1064 nm) laser treatment by animal experiments. Rabbits' backs were tattooed with four ink colours, and the Nd-YAG (1064 nm) laser was used to remove the tattoos. The response to the laser treatment in the ...