This healthy 24YO goth female presented with severe pain and a floater in her left eye immediately following a failed intraocular tattoo procedure earlier that day. Vision was 20/40.
Color photography shows a posteriorly dislocated intraocular tattoo needle lying on the inferior macular surface. Adherent vitreous is noted on the optic nerve. She was immediately taken to surgery for the removal of the metallic intraocular foreign body (IOFB).
Learning Points:
HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!!
Although this case is a fake-out from an old fundus camera utilizing a fixation stick that appears as a pseudo-IOFB, cosmetic tattooing is unfortunately a very real thing, including corneal, subconjunctival, and episcleral tattoos (https://eyewiki.org/Eye_Tattooing).
The procedure is performed by either the individual performing it on themselves or non-ophthalmic trained individuals and is obviously associated with numerous complications, including globe penetration, traumatic cataract, retinal detachment, endophthalmitis, and orbital cellulitis. Ink-related complications include dye migration into the anterior chamber, where it can coat the lens and posterior corneal surface and cause secondary
