madman
Super Moderator
DEAR EDITOR, A 43-year-old bodybuilder reported pain and ‘hardening’ of skin and muscles. (a) He had developed painful subcutaneous nodules in the upper extremities, chest and back. Biopsies of (b, c) skin and (d) muscle showed a ‘swiss cheese pattern’ with vacuoles surrounded by lymphocytes and macrophages. This was consistent with an oleoma as a chronic foreign body reaction. He admitted to muscular injection of oily steroids. Anabolic self-injections for muscle augmentation are common among bodybuilders. Steroids are mixed with oils, silicone or Vaseline. Besides panniculitis, patients are prone to developing ulcers, infections, oil embolism or myocardial infections.1,2
(a) He had developed painful subcutaneous nodules in the upper extremities, chest and back.
Biopsies of (b, c) skin and (d) muscle showed a ‘swiss cheese pattern’ with vacuoles surrounded by lymphocytes and macrophages.
(a) He had developed painful subcutaneous nodules in the upper extremities, chest and back.
Biopsies of (b, c) skin and (d) muscle showed a ‘swiss cheese pattern’ with vacuoles surrounded by lymphocytes and macrophages.
