• Smaragda Kapsimalakou, Isabell Grande-Nagel, Martin Simon, Dorothea Fischer, Marc Thill, and Beate M Stöckelhuber.
• Department of Radiology, University of Luebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Luebeck, Germany. Smaragda.Kapsimalakou@uk-sh.de
• Arch. Gynecol. Obstet. 2010 Dec 1; 282 (6): 623-6.

BackgroundNipple piercing gains popularity and social acceptance within the last years, especially among young people. The medical literature reports an increase of complications in the post-piercing period.Case ReportWe report a case of a young woman, who presented with a light enlargement of the right breast and tenderness in the retroareolar region following nipple piercing 5 months ago. On ultrasound, a poorly marginated hypoechoic lesion was seen which was suspicious of an inflammation. After 1 week of antibiotic therapy, the mass had enlarged. As carcinoma could not be excluded, open biopsy was performed. Histology showed signs of chronic mastitis.ConclusionTo date, only a few reports of breast abscess after nipple piercing have been published. With the increasing prevalence of body piercing, it is important to document and report infections which may be discovered many months following piercing. Carcinoma can mimic breast abscess and should be included in the differential diagnosis.

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