BACKGROUND To our knowledge tattooing has never been thought of as a method of introducing nanoparticles (NPs) into the human body by the intradermal route, and as such it has never been a topic of research in nanotoxicology. The content of NPs in tattoo inks is unknown. OBJECTIVES To classify the particle sizes in tattoo inks in general usage. METHODS The particle size was measured by lase...

I read, with keen interest, the CMAJ article “Tattoo reactions as a sign of sarcoidosis,” which described granulomatous tattoo reaction in a patient with systemic sarcoidosis. Tattoo sarcoidosis has been known for more than half a century, although only a few cases have been described. One hypothesis is that this may be a “pigment-induced disease.” Tattoo pigments may provide chronic antigenic ...

In response to two isolated cases of Mycobacterium chelonae infections in tattoo recipients where tap water was used to dilute ink, the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted an investigation using Emergency Department (ED) syndromic surveillance to assess whether an outbreak was occuring. ED visits with chief complaints containing the key word "tattoo" from Novem...

Tattooing is an ancient art widely practiced allover the world. The procedure used in making a tattoo consists of puncturing the dermis and depositing an amount of ink, but this decorative technique is not devoid of potential adverse effects, such as infectious complications, hypersensitivity reactions to pigments (lichenoid and granulomatous reactions), the development of benign or malignant t...

Introduction. Tattoos have increasingly become accepted by mainstream Western society. As a result, the incidence of tattoo-associated dermatoses is on the rise. The presence of a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in an old tattooed skin is of interest as it has not been previously documented. Case Presentation. A 79-year-old white homeless man of European descent presented to the d...

Pulsed photothermal radiometry (PPTR) enables noninvasive determination of temperature depth profiles induced in strongly scattering biological tissues and organs, including human skin, by pulsed laser irradiation. In the present study, we evaluate the potential of this technique for objective characterization of a laser tattoo removal procedure. The study involved 5 healthy volunteers (age 20–...

Dear Editor, Case Report A 5-year-old, previously healthy French Caucasian boy was seen at a Paediatric Emergency Department for a skin rash over his left forearm. The child had a temporary “black scorpion” tattoo painted on his left forearm while in Singapore. The temporary tattoo disappeared after a few days. However a week later, the parents noted that the skin erupted in an erythematous pap...

Cosmetic tattooing has become a risk factor for several adverse reactions related to inks, procedures, and associated clinical conditions. Development of a sarcoid reaction to the inserted tattoo pigment in the skin is not common. We report a 45 year-old patient with history of dyspnea and mild cough since two years who had subsequently developed reddish, scaly lesions in her 15-year old tattoo...

A 35-year-old man came to the clinic after noticing changes in a pigmented lesion on his right arm, where he had had a tattoo some 2 years previously. When the tattoo was placed, the tattooist avoided a pre-existing nevus, although during recent months this had grown until it reached the tattoo and came to the patient’s attention (Fig. 1 A and B). Clinical suspicion led us to remove the lesion....