Molluscum contagiosum over tattooed skin

Abstract EN

33-year-old Spanish male presented to the Department of Dermatology & Venereology at the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital, Granada, Spain, in February 2015 with pruritic skin lesions located over a tattoo on his right arm.

The tattoo had been completed three months earlier without protective measures by the patient’s friend at his home.

At presentation, the patient was not suffering from any known illnesses.

A physical examination showed several pearled papules of 0.3–0.5 cm located over the tattoo [Figure 1A].

The papules were umbilicated and occurred over the lines of the tattoo [Figure 1B].

Biochemical tests and a haemogram were normal.

Serology for hepatitis B and C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis was negative.

The patient was diagnosed with molluscum contagiosum (MC) and treated with curettage, with a subsequent healing time of three weeks