Much ‘tattoo’ about nothing; Tattoo pigment mimicking breast microcalcifications on mammography

Abstract

Mimics of calcifications on mammography are not uncommon and result in additional investigations that can cause patient anxiety. We describe the case of a 63 year old male who underwent further investigation of calcifications in the superior right breast. Additional imaging and patient examination revealed that the calcifications were located in a color tattoo overlying the medial right pectoralis muscle and actually represented the radio-opaque metallic compounds found in tattoo pigment.

Keywords

• Microcalcifications
• Mammogram artefacts
• Digital breast tomosynthesis
• Tattoo pigment