An Unusual Small Bowel Mass: India Ink Tattooing Mimicking Malignancy

Introduction: India ink is routinely used for preoperative marking of colonic lesions to facilitate identification during laparoscopic colon surgery.It is a relatively inert dye with few reported adverse effects.Case Description: We report a case of inadvertent extracolonic tattooing and intra-peritoneal spillage of India ink leading to adhesions and formation of a mass, which mimicked malignancy.The relevant literature is also reviewed.Discussion: Although India ink is a safe dye for colonic tattooing and most of its complications are asymptomatic, it can occasionally lead to complications that might mimic malignancy and cause a diagnostic dilemma.