[Lidline Tattoo Associated with Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Lid Margin - Coincidence or Association?] / Lidstrichtattoo assoziiert mit Lidkantenbasaliom ­ Zufall oder Assoziation?

A cystic lesion of the lid margin was excised suspecting basal cell carcinoma. On histology, black-turquoise pigment was seen in the dermis adjacent to the basal cell carcinoma. It was pronounced perivascular, intracellular in macrophages and fibroblasts, but also extracellular as free pigment in the tissue, compatible with an eyelid line tattoo. Typical tissue reactions to tattoo ink, meibomian gland dysfunction after lid margin tattoo, as well as inflammatory reactions in the retina and choroid associated with tattoos distant from the eye are discussed. The correlation of lid tumors and lid margin tattoos seems coincidental.