Old photos taken of Michael Jackson before he died appears to show a necrotic ulceration on his lower right leg that may have been caused by an IV extravasation that occurs when caustic IV fluid leaks out of the vein and into the surrounding tissue.

This usually happens when an IV catheter is not inserted properly in the vein or the catheter (needle) becomes dislodged from the vein.

The photos obtained by ABC News were taken in 2002. “On the photographs of Michael Jackson, it looks like there was necrosis on his lower leg where there might have been fluid that went into his lower leg,” a possible result of an IV that had leaked into the leg, Dr. Debra Jaliman, a leading dermatologist and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology, told ABC News.

“If, in fact, he had an IV here, and the IV fluid, which may have been acidic fluid, went into his skin, it might may have, in fact, destroyed the skin,” she said. “That’s all dead skin that would then make an ulceration underneath that skin.”

There are reports that Jackson was self-injecting narcotics.

Jackson’s skin also show signs of discoloration, possibly as a result of the skin lightener/bleaching cream that he used to turn his skin white. If the skin lightening cream is discontinued, his natural dark pigment (melanin) would return.

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