Perilymphatic atrophy of skin. An adverse side effect of intralesional steroid injections.

A less frequently reported adverse side effect of local steroid injections has been described. Perilymphatic atrophy results in atrophy of the dermal structures and depigmentation along the course of the lymphatic vessels draining the site of injection. The five cases reported here all occurred in dark-skinned patients. Three of the five cases (Cases Three to Five) resolved spontaneously, the longest taking 9 months from the time of injection. The outcome of two of the patients (Cases One and Two) remain unknown since the patients were lost to follow-up. This report did not form any conclusions from the material reported here, but simply sought to make practitioners aware of the occurrence of this adverse side effect.