A case of primary inoculation tuberculosis

Primary inoculation tuberculosis results from the inoculation of mycobacteria into the skin of a host not previously infected with tuberculosis. Tuberculous chancre and the affected regional lymph nodes constitute the tuberculous primary complex of the skin. A 21-year-old female visited our clinic with an erythematous, ulcerative, indurated plaque on her right upper eyelid. The skin lesion developed 2 months after bilateral upper blepharoplasty. The results of a skin biopsy with acid-fast bacilli staining and polymerase chain reaction were compatible with tuberculosis of the skin. After 9 months of antituberculosis chemotherapy, the skin lesion was unproved.