Silicon Granuloma of Skin Due to Traumatic Sand Inoculation

Silicon granulomas of the skin have been reported not infrequently in the English medical literature,¹but, to our knowledge, they have not heretofore been described in a popular American medical periodical.1a Silicon granulomas of the viscera, due to the use of talc on surgical gloves, have also been reported,²and this has led to the development for surgical use of powders containing no silicon. Cutaneous silicon granulomas due to traumatic silicious inoculation of the skin are probably not too uncommon in this country, but simply are not recognized. The lesions are prone to occur about the face and exposed portions of the extremities that are subject to earthen trauma. Among the types of injuries causing these lateappearing skin-colored growths are those associated with cycling and mountaineering, and even ordinary falls on sandy or flinty roads or paths. The sand particles are actually bruised into the skin during