Not What She Had in Mind

Abstract

Are you hoping to dissuade patients from body piercing? One odd case might fortify your argument. A 19-year-old female, who had been wearing a nose ring since she was 15 years old, presented with a 9-month history of a slow-growing, pearly plaque on her right nasal ala at the site of the nostril piercing (Figure 1). This did not cause pain or pruritus. She reported excellent general health and no significant past medical or family history. Her skin was Fitzpatrick phototype III—white- to olive; sometimes burns; slowly tans to light brown—and she had no previous episodes of sunburn or sun-bed exposure.